Yet another ST fic. Yeah.
by RiKa1
Summary: Introducing my creations, the Shikigumi and the Shingumi. The first part of the fic is pretty serious, but I won't say so for the second part. Although there's no line drawn, it's obvious to see where the parts are...
1. Prologue - The New Enemy and The New All...

Just another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: **You should read 'Just another ST fic. Yeah.' before you read this because this is the sequel. Or rather the 2nd part of the '-another ST fic. Yeah.' series. (I guess there's the last one coming up...) **

**PROLOGUE - The New Enemy and The New Ally **

"Ne...Tokirou-chan, you want to make a comeback, do you?" Kanna said quietly to the inanimate object. She was the only one in the engineering room. Kouran was called away just seconds ago to meet Kaede regarding the Koubu-kai. Then Kanna wondered to herself, _Am I actually talking to a time machine? _Kouran had called her to the engineering room because she wanted to increase her attack points by a few notches on the Koubu-kai.

"Kanna? What are you doing here?" Maria asked. The larger woman muttered something about the time machine, then Maria got puzzled. "Huh?" It was then Kanna realised Maria's existence in the engineering room. 

"Oh. Hi!" Kanna replied cheerfully. "What were you asking me?" 

"I just wanted to know what you are doing here." 

"Kouran called me here. Why?" 

"Nothing...Just wanted to come in and check who is here."

"You looked troubled."

"Kanna...Iris felt something, Sakura too. Then it was my turn. Premonition of something bad, I guess."

"Uh-oh. Anyone else felt like that?"

The answer was apparently 'yes' when the battle alarm sounded.

* * *

"Listen up, you people. There has been an attack, by an unknown force, but all I can say that it's very powerful. It's killing people and trampling houses, so do what you can, and quickly. No other information can be sourced on this new enemy, we only know that there is no more than one. But it is very difficult to overcome." Kaede was very brief in describing the attack. Then the Hanagumi moved out.

The battle was hard. The monster was huge. And in the whole city, the only person who knew what it was was a young girl, the last of her clan, named Tsukigawa Hanae. Not to mention she was a part of the military... 

* * *

"That was bad. Really bad," Sakura sighed after the battle. "A monster appearing in broad daylight...One of the rare cases, I presume," Maria said, thoughtfully. "Maria-san, Kaede-san, somebody by the name of Tsukigawa Hanae wants to see both of you," Kasumi rushed into the meeting room. The two nodded and went out of the room to change out of their uniform.

* * *

"Tsukigawa-san?" Kaede assumed as she met the girl. The girl spun around. "Just call me Hanae," the girl replied. "Hanae, why did you want to see us?" Maria asked. "I'm from the Shingumi, more about that the next time, and I have been informed that your headquarters are here. This is extremely important. Please listen carefully. The enemy that appeared today is from the past. I know why it is here-" "Why?" Kaede and Maria asked in unison. "Let me explain."

"Back in the 1700s, the Tsukigawa family was the one of the families in Japan capable of repelling evil. We first appeared in Hokkaido, from the Ainu people. But unlike the well-known Shinguuji family or Kanzaki family, we kept our ability under wraps for fear that people would get us to help them to rid the country of evil. Because of this selfishness, we knew we would be punished. 

"Then the day came. Terrible monsters appeared from the mountains of Hokkaido, the same one that appeared today. They reproduced at a very fast rate, and they could mature in a few weeks. Here is the information on this demon that I got from my family archives."

Maria and Kaede took in all this with interest. They accepted the information on the monster from Hanae. Then Hanae bowed and was about to leave when Maria asked her, "What is the Shingumi?" Hanae gave a mysterious smile. "You would know very soon, Maria-san. Farewell, and may we meet again!"

"That's strange. I didn't hear you telling her your name." "What exactly IS the Shingumi?" "Hm...If even I do not know, then they must be one of the top-secret groups..." 

-TSUTZUKU-


	2. Chp. 1 - The Demon of Time

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: **Hehe...I still don't know if there's gonna be one more of the '-another St fic. Yeah.' series or not. Why? I can't think of a title -_-;; **

Thanks: **Um...Takuko left today, but before she boarded the plane she passed me this chapter's storyline. So, I'll give credit to her for this chapter!**

Translation: **shiro - white kuro - black minna - everybody maa...kore wa himitsu desu - ah...this is a secret Jan-Poru - Jean-Paul, Iris' teddy bear Nandesute - What?! senpai - senior**

**Chapter 1 - The Demon of Time **

In the salon, the Hanagumi were having an informal meeting before dinner. They were going over the information from the Tsukigawa archives.

"It's written here that the demon is called the Demon of Time (Toki no Akuma) and can appear anywhere it wants. It's purpose is to - Destroy the Tsukigawa clan. I wonder who would be so evil as to do this!" Sakura exclaimed. Kanna said, "It could be a curse of some sort." "Why do you say that?" Sumire asked. Kanna replied, "I dunno. I just feel that it is a curse of some sort." "I think it's a curse too," Leni said quietly. "Why?" Maria asked." "We met something like that before, ne, Leni?" Orihime recalled.

"There was a strange illness which only fell on certain people. The common thing about them was they robbed, killed and did countless wicked things. Then, it was found out that a witch doctor was casting a spell on them so as to punish them," Leni said. "Of course, the witch doctor was arrested for 'indirect murder' or something like that. He confessed to everything... We all know that this is possible, look at ourselves! We are sort of magic too," Orihime stated.

Then they continued reading. 

"Because of this demon that only harmed members of the Tsukigawa family, the Tsukigawa family broke up. A minority of them wanted to fight the demon but majority wanted to run away. The ones which stayed to fight were the Tsukigawa-shiro, while the ones who ran away were called Tsukigawa-kuro. The Tsukigawa-kuro ran off to the main island, while the Tsukigawa-shiro stayed on at Hokkaido. However, because of lack of practice of their powers were meagre, so they were defeated. There was only one survivor, Tsukigawa Hiromatsu. He took the books of the _Tsukigawa Kaijin Kaze (The Tsukigawa Sea-God Winds) _and the _Tsukigawa Sora Kaze (The Tsukigawa Sky Winds) _which taught the traditional Tsukigawa repelling evil powers and the sword plays. He took with him some other important items. (_Refer to shelf 41, 1700s, Items Section.)_ The demon was extremely angry that there was one survivor. 

"The demon went into the main island to look for the other members of the Tsukigawa family. Almost all were massacred, except for some who simply disappeared. Tsukigawa Hiromatsu was nowhere to be found."

Then, the information ended. However, there was another envelope of it. Maria opened it up and flipped through it. "This information looks newer. Yes! It's dated to 1845. Well, we'll go have our meal before we continue." So, they proceeded outside to the dining hall.

As they ate, they discussed about the current issues. Then Iris gave a sigh. "We have to fight of enemies, and we have to stage a play very soon...Iris is so busy, she has no time to write to Onii-chan, to Father and Mother...And she has no time to go out!" At the mention of the Hanagumi's ex-captain, the table quietened down. The the moments of silence, each and everyone of the Hanagumi members realised that they actually had been missing Oogami Ichirou very much, only that they had no time to talk to him at that time. He had been gone for a while now...Then Kouran broke the silence. "Na, minna, it's only 7 pm...Want to take Tokirou-chan for a test drive?" Everybody agreed, but Maria was reluctant. Kouran knew what was on her mind. "We'll just be gone for 15 minutes...Please?" she pleaded. Then, finally, she agreed.

The Hanagumi boarded the time machine. Kouran then asked where they wanted to go. Sumire wanted to go to Paris, and as she was the first to voice out where she wanted, she got what she wanted. There was a bit of protest from Kanna, but in the end it cleared up when Orihime noted they would be able to see Oogami for a short while.

"It's early autumn!" Iris exclaimed. Then everybody realised that they were in a middle of a street. Kouran asked Iris very politely to move the time machine, and the little girl obliged. They were in for a surprise when Iris teleported them to-

"Isn't this the headquarters of the Pari-Kagekidan?" Kouran asked, a little incredulously. "It's is!" Sumire shrieked. All of them entered the cabaret-looking Chattes Noires. Heads turned when the Hanagumi entered. "Tokyo Hanagumi?" Erica looked in disbelief. "Erica!" Sakura exclaimed. The Pari-Hanagumi had met the Tokyo-Hanagumi through the Kinematron. They stayed for a little while, then learnt Oogami was not in the theater at that time. Then Tokirou-chan started beeping loudly, which signalled the end of 10 minutes. Then a voice behind them said, "Ah...Sorry for intruding, but aren't you guys supposed to be in Tokyo, approximately 3 days ago?" And there stood Tsukigawa Hanae. 

* * *

"Tsukigawa-san!" Maria was surprised to see Hanae there. "As I said, just call me Hanae," the raven haired girl said. Everybody scrutinised the girl carefully. _So this is the last of the Tsukigawa clan..._they all thought. Then Iris asked, "Hanae, which part of the Tsukigawa are you from?" The girl replied quietly, "Tsukigawa-shiro." 

"!!!!"

"So you're a descendant of Tsukigawa Hiromatsu?"

"Yes." The tall girl replied with a smile. She was about 175 cm at the least. Leni then asked, "Hanae-san, how did you get here?" She smiled her mysterious smile again and said, equally mysteriously, "Maa...Kore wa himitsu desu." Then Kouran was thinking, _We better get back soon... _Hanae looked at her and said, "You're right, Kouran-san. Be off, you have a long night ahead...Don't worry, demons not included." Kouran looked at her in surprise. The rest of the Hanagumi were puzzled, as they didn't hear Kouran say anything. _Did I say it out loud? _Kouran wondered. Again, Hanae replied, "No, you didn't." _Can she read minds? _Kouran thought, startled. "Haha...Of course I can, Kouran-san." The Hanagumi were getting frustrated at the 'silent conversation'. Only Iris could sense something. "Ne...Iris isn't the only one hear who has psychic powers, Jan-Poru!" Then Tokirou-chan beeped loudly, and the Hanagumi made a mad scramble for the machine. They waved their hurried goodbyes to Erica and said they would contact her next time. Hanae did not follow them into the machine, but disappeared in a flash of pale blue light.

_Back at the Hanagumi HQ_

"Hanae-san!" Sakura exclaimed. "Hanae...?" "Aa...Minna, I have come to...Assist you!" Hanae said with a good-natured chuckle. Then she opened the thick envelope and took out all the rest of the information.

"The demon will come tomorrow. Happy reading, and if you have any questions, feel free to wake me up!" Hanae chirped and then, settling herself on a chair, she went to sleep.

"Nandesute?! There is so much to read!"

"Sumire-san is right de~su!"

"Ne, minna, ganbatte?" *This is said by the naturally hardworking Sakura*

"It's only a little bit...Come on, snake woman, don't be so picky."

"Bear with it, minna. No wonder Hanae said it was going to be a long night..." Maria sighed.

_3 1/2 tiring hours later (a.k.a 35 pages later)..._

"Why does the print have to be so small?!!!" Sumire complained. "*yawns* Sumire-san, ganbatte..." Sakura said sleepily, looking bleary-eyed herself. Iris was resting her head on Sakura's lap. It was only 10.30, and early sleepers of the Hanagumi could not bear it any longer. Then suddenly there was a knock at the door. 

"Who are you looking for?" Orihime went to answer the door. Two young girls, dressed exactly alike, looked exactly alike and blinking at the same time, stood there. Orihime thought, _Oh dear... I'm so tired that I'm seeing double! _"Onee-chan, you're not seeing things. We are twins," one of the girls said. Orihime was so tired that she didn't even realise she was not speaking. She told the girls mentally, _Who are you looking for? _"We are looking for our Taichou." _Come in then. _"Thank you, Onee-chan!" 

"Taichou! Wake up!!! Shinta wants you to get back now!!!" the twin who had done all the speaking earlier jumped about. Her twin was very quiet. Then finally she spoke. "Shinta-sama wants you back now, Taichou-sama." With that, Hanae sprang up. "Ne, Chiyone, you didn't have to shout so loud, you know," she said, ruffling the hyperactive girl's hair. Then she bent down and looked at the quieter girl. "Now, Komugi, did Shinta say anything about why I had to go back?" The younger twin shook her head. "Onee-chan," she asked, very quietly, addressing her sister, "do you know?" Chiyone shook her head violently. The Hanagumi watched in interest (those awake, that is) at the trio. Then finally Kanna exclaimed, "YAAY!!! FINISHED!!!" Hanae smiled, then her face grew serious and very quiet. Now, only Leni, Kouran, Maria and Kanna were awake. The rest had collapsed, snoring, on the floor. Those awake sensed something and Kanna, feeling curious, went over to ask Komugi. 

Squatting down, she asked the little girl, "Ne, Komugi-chan, what is Hanae doing?" Komugi was very slow in her reply. After a few seconds of silence, she finally said, in almost a whisper, "She is sending a message to one of the Shingumi members to pass to Shinta-sama, our commander." "Why doesn't she send it directly to this Shinta-sama of yours?" Again, after a few seconds of silence, the little girl replied, "Shinta-sama does not have powers like we do." Kanna thought, _Man, this is one weird kid... _Before she knew it, Chiyone bounded beside her and protested, "My sister is not weird!" Then Hanae got up. 

"How was it? Tell me, please?" Chiyone danced around her captain. "Ryuue says Shinta wants me back because..." "Because?" The Hanagumi also wanted to know the answer and were listening intently. "Because...The meatloaf got burnt." Needless to say, everyone facefaulted, even Komugi. Kouran was rolling on the floor, clutching at her sides, laughing like a mad woman. Maria was laughing too, only not as bad as Kouran. As for Leni and Kanna, Leni just stood there with her mouth hanging open, and Kanna was...Well, let's just say she was worse than Kouran. Chiyone was practically fuming. "I CAN'T believe Shinta sent BOTH of us here just to inform you that THE MEATLOAF WAS BURNT!!! Argh!" "Shinta-sama has his reasons." "I agree with Chiyone, Shinta is a WIMP. All he knows how to do is archery. More archery, and he'll become crazy. I don't care if he was my senpai in military training school, he is a WIMP!!! I wonder who will be blind to fall for him...Let's just wish her good luck and Happy New Year!" Hanae said angrily.

* * *

"Oh well, we'd better be going," Hanae said a few minutes later. She and the twins bowed politely. Then she suddenly said, "Oh yes, Maria-san. If you really want to know what the Shingumi is, just find us at the textile shop just beside the railway station. Goodbye, Maria-san!" And they left, in just a pale blue flash, and two light-orange flashes. 

-TSUTZUKU-

Author's note: **This was Takuko's idea, with a little bit of my adding in here and there. E-mail me if you don't understand anything so far, ne?**


	3. Chp. 2 - The Nightmare Begins With A Lon...

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: **Enjoy reading. I think this is gonna be a dangerous chapter...**

Translation: **Nihonbashi - Japan Bridge (?) nani - what?! gomen nasai - I'm so sorry Sou - that's right... Ryoukai - 'yes ma'am'**

**Chapter 2 - The Nightmare Begins With A Long Night... **

"According to the information provided, the demon multiplies at a rate of 7 eggs every time it gives birth, which is every 7 days. Guess when it attains full maturity? After how long?" Kanna quizzed without much enthusiasm. "7 seconds?" Sakura tried. "That could be possible, if it is born fully mature," Kouran noted. "But, no," Kanna shook her head. "A more practical guess would be 7 hours, don't you think?" Leni said. "You're right, Leni." Kanna, Kouran and Maria were the only ones who finished reading the whole thing. For some reason, Leni missed the part about the statistics on the demon. "I wonder what's so special about the number 7," Sumire said aloud. Kanna shrugged. "There was so much to read about the demon...But most of the information was a little useless. Who wants to know what is the demon's favourite napping time?" Kouran said. Maria had another answer, though. "We could have a surprise attack...Only it's favourite napping time is in winter. Which doesn't help at all. It's only summer..." she mused. "And only people who have the gift of repelling evil can destroy it," Leni added. Then all eyes were fixed on Sakura. "Don't look at me...What about Sumire-san?" "Hey! Not only me, all of you can do it!" "That's true..."

Maria was staring out of one of the windows. She was a little tired of hearing about the demon. She was quite bored. _I can't admit that I'm bored...I am, after all, the captain of the Hanagumi...I'll go visit Hanae, _she decided.

* * *

A Chinese boy was at the counter. He was dressed Chinese, that is. "What can I do to help you, Miss?" he said, in a accent very much like Kouran's except without the Kansai accent. When Maria said she wanted to look for Hanae, the boy was about to call out to Hanae in Japanese, but then for some reason changed his mind and smiling, called out in Russian. "Oh Captain~ Maria-san's here to see you~" Maria was very surprised when the reply came back in Russian and in Hanae's voice at that. "COMING!!!"

"You speak Russian?" Maria asked the obvious. Hanae grinned, "I speak Russian, English, Chinese, German, Spanish, Italian and whatever language you can name." "How...?" "Photographic memory, my dear. Do you mind if I call you Maria instead of Maria-san?" "*pauses* It's fine by me."

_The interview begins..._

"The Shingumi posses 6 main characteristics. Telekinesis, Teleportation, Telepathy, Mind-reading, Hypnosis and the last is Photographic Memory, which can come in handy at times. Any of this you don't understand?" 

"Telepathy is...?" 

"We can correspond without the use of devices, just mentally. It's sort of a telegram sent from brain to brain by a sort of spiritual power frequency." 

"I see. Do you all use any weapons during battle?" 

"Not unless necessary. We usually use our weapons unless the condition is serious. Our powers could rival bombs."

"Why do you say so?"

"One wrong blow from us...Let's just say if we use our weapons and we hit something other than the enemy, the 'something' would be blown up very badly. Take the Nihonbashi for example, if we hit it with controlled powers, the damage will be just a few dislodged rocks. But if we give it the full thing, it will be completely blown up and disintegrated."

"So...Your powers are that powerful?"

"I guess."

"If you don't fight with weapons, then.."

"We just generate our spiritual powers out of our hands."

"How come we have never heard of you people before?"

"We are one of the 3 top-secret groups. Our powers are...Not very ordinary."

"Then...Why are you all called the 'Shingumi'?"

"The word 'Shin' means heart. Because all our powers are full and pure, we are called the Shingumi."

"Hang on. Do you all use Koubu?"

"No. We do not have any armour except for our spiritual shields."

"How many people are there in the Shingumi?"

"Rose Sakibara, who is Japanese-American, Rin Ryuue, from Peking, China, Yoshitake Komugi and Chiyone, the twins from Aomori, Yule Carlton, from London but is currently training in New York, and of course, myself, from Hokkaido. Oh yes, not forgetting Shinta, whose only strength is at archery and very strong spiritual power, omitting the 6 main characteristics of a Shingumi member. And that makes seven."

_Seven again...._

"You're thinking about the demon's stats?"

"Yes. 7 eggs...7 days...7 hours..."

"Actually even I, as a descendant of the Tsukigawa-shiro, do not know the reason behind the number 7."

And then the conversation ended abruptly upon Shinta's interruption. 

"Hana-chan, where is the soy- And who do we have here?" Shinta noticed Maria with interest. He was about Maria's age, in his early 20s as well. "Maria Tachibana-san. She's from the Hanagumi, just came for a visit," Hanae said coldly, not forgetting Shinta's order for her to rush back the night before just because the meatloaf got burnt. "I see. And where is the soy sauce?" Shinta asked. "Go ask Rose, she's the one in charge of the kitchen." "Okay! Oh Rose~" Then he disappeared. _Weird guy, _Maria thought.

"He is pretty weird. Well, he seems to have taken a liking to you..." Hanae teased. Maria grew a reasonably dark shade of pink. Then out from the back came another girl she had never seen before, she was arguing in English with the Chinese boy she had seen earlier.

"You shouldn't have taken the fish, you thief!"

"I just took it to feed Etsu, what's wrong with that?"

"You could have eaten it yourself instead of giving it to that already-fat-and-terribly-lazy cat!"

"I wanted to~!"

"You shouldn't have taken it in the first place!"

"Matte, Rose, that's not entirely MY fault, it was YOU who left the fish on the table..."

"I left it on the table to cool, baka!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"You obviously have no brains, Ryuue. ARGH!"

"It's just a fish..."

Maria looked at them and thought, _Sumire and Kanna? That's cute._ Then Hanae cleared her throat. "We have a guest, people." Immediately the arguing ceased and all eyes were on Maria. "Erm...Maria Tachibana, yoroshiku ne?" Maria attempted a self-introduction.

"AHHHHH!!!"

"It's her! MARIA TACHIBANA!"

"From the HANAGUMI!!!"

"The DAITEIKOKU GEKIJOU!!!"

And together they screamed, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Maria and Hanae sweat dropped. "Ne...Minna...You're over-reacting a little, ne?" Now the Chinese and the auburn-haired American were fighting over paper for Maria to autograph. Then Komugi or Chiyone appeared. When she spoke, Maria concluded that she was Komugi, the quieter twin. 

"Taichou-sama, there will be an attack in approximately 15 minutes. Please get ready."

"NANI?! Ah! Sou! Gomen nasai, Maria, erm...We have to get ready for our battle, so Komugi, can you...?" Komugi nodded and took Maria's hand in hers. Suddenly they were back at the theatre. They had teleported! Maria said her thanks, then Komugi bowed. Maria bowed back, but when she raised her head the young Japanese girl had left.

* * *

"Kaede-san?" Maria called out. Kaede turned. "Oh, Maria. Where did you go?" Kaede asked. "To visit the Shingumi. Apparently their 'stage' is a textile shop house, they live in the shop too. One of the top secret groups of the Imperial Army." "I see..." "I'm puzzled about the number 7, though. I still can't fig-" Then there was an earth-shaking tremor.

"Iris! IRIS!" Sakura tried to get the little girl to calm down. "It's coming...It's coming..." the French girl muttered incoherently in fear. The Hanagumi were faced with a surprise attack, and suddenly everybody started to take action.

* * *

"Kanna, you take the defensive right, Kouran will take the left. Sumire and Sakura, both of you, do the central attack. Iris, I want you to to rear attacking and stand-by for casualties. Leni, rear defence, Orihime and I will do rear attack and standby for backup. Please be flexible," Maria gave out commands to a formation. "RYOUKAI!"

There were many of the gruesome faced monsters. The monsters were not mechs like the Wakiji, they were made of flesh and bone. They had very sharp claws, and if you got scratched you'll be poisoned, but it was not lethal, unless the wound came into contact with water. Their hide was hard and no matter how many you killed, there seemed to be more. Over the last 2 days, they had multiplied greatly. After 2 and a half hours of battle, finally there was about 15-odd more to go. A flash of light appeared and the Shingumi stood in front of the Hanagumi. 

"Hanagumi! Please take a rest, you people are too tired to continue," Hanae shouted. Then she shouted, "Shingumi are you ready?" "HAI!" "Now, ONCE AND FOR ALL~!" The Hanagumi watched as the Shingumi faced their palms to the monsters and projecting their powers, simply dissolved the monsters with their spiritual force. Then they rushed over to help the Hanagumi.

* * *

"Oh no...This is bad, people." Hanae was in a dilemma, as well as the Kazegumi, Yoneda and Kaede. Earlier, when they brought the Hanagumi out of the Koubu-kai, they were shocked to see that Sumire was cut badly, Sakura was unconscious and she was cut shoulder to waist, but the cut was not to deep, just long. Kanna's head was bleeding, Orihime's ankle was sprained, Leni was unconscious too, Kouran, Maria and Iris were poisoned as the monster somehow managed to open the Koubu and reached in to scratch them. However, Kouran and Iris were better as the poison was quickly extracted by Shinta, who was a graduate from medical university. However, Maria's was more serious. She had come into contact with water, and the demon had scratched her very badly, and her clothes were torn to shreds. Hanae was assisting Shinta. 

"Maria's lips are turning blue!" Hanae shrieked. "She's still breathing," Shinta tried to be calm. _Damn it. Hang in there, Maria..._ he prayed. He silently cursed the monster. As the other Shingumi and the rest of the Teikoku Kagekidan treated the other members of the Hanagumi, Hanae and Shinta were working on Maria. 

"Hana-chan, any idea to how to extract the poison?" Shinta asked. "I'm not sure if this helps or not. My family archives state that one of the most effective ways is to suck out the poison. I'm not sure why the needles are not effective enough, I guess it has something to do with saliva. But the person who sucks out the poison has a 80% chance of getting poisoned too," Hanae remembered. Shinta was already cutting a small slit on Maria's arm. "Bring me a bowl, just something which can hold blood." He put his lip against the cut, braced himself, and started to extract the poison.

* * *

It was already dawn. Most of the Hanagumi members had recovered, except for those who got poisoned, and Orihime and Sumire. Shinta was very tired, but he kept telling himself, _Anything to save her..._ Despite the situation, Hanae smiled as she realised Shinta liked Maria. Kanna was beside Maria, saying, "Maria! You can do it, don't give up!" Kouran and Iris were slowly waking up. The only one unconscious was Maria. Shinta had to wash his mouth with apple juice every 5 minutes, as the malic acid in the apples could get rid of the little poison in his mouth. **(This idea was provided by Yui, from our Science textbook. -_-;; I know..) **

Finally, in the late morning, Maria's poison was extracted. Shinta massaged his mouth, then told Hanae, "I don't think I can't move my mouth anymore this week...It's so tired." "But you are well enough to use it to tell somebody how you feel, aren't you?" Shinta remembered that she could read minds and turned beet red. "I guess it was love at first sight...But it's too early to tell her now. I bet she thinks I'm weird." "She does." "Hana-chan...!"

"Shingumi, thank you very much for your help, please rest here for now," Kaede thanked the 6 of them. Komugi was covered in blood, mostly Sumire's, and Chiyone in Sakura's. Ryuue took care of Orihime, Rose was with Iris. The rest of the Hanagumi were taken care of by the Kazegumi, Yoneda and Kaede.

It was like a nightmare which was just over.

But everybody knew that it was not at all over...

-TSUTZUKU-

Author's note: **I guess the 'interview' and the quarrel made the story longer, as in terms of length. Hope you guys liked it!**


	4. Chp. 3 - A Grudge Of Yesteryear

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: Another dangerous chapter...What's getting into me these days??? Oh well. This is gonna be one long fic. BEAR WITH ME!!!

Translation: **nani - what?! gomen nasai - I'm so sorry Sou ka - that's right... Demo - but Minna-san - Everybody**

**Chapter 3 - The Grudge of Yesteryear**

Maria woke up in the early afternoon, about 2 p.m., in her room. Kanna was beside herself with worry when Maria was unconscious. She was very concerned about her friend, and realised that without Shinta's help, she would have died. Maria was very woozy, and her head felt heavy.

"I...don't feel...too good."

"Oi, Maria, keep your head on the pillow, for goodness' sake."

"Kanna-san is right. Maria-san, you really must rest," Shinta said, blushing a little upon seeing her wrapped up only in bandages and her coat, which was unbuttoned as well. *revealing a LOT, by the way...*

Hanae knew what was happening. She excused Shinta and herself from the room and dragged him out.

"Your nose is practically bleeding, Shinta. And please clean up your drool," Hanae told him in English.

"Hana-chan!!!" Then he self-consciously added, "It's so obvious?" Then his hand moved up to his upper lip to check whether he was really nose-bleeding or not. They were more comfortable with the language they were using as their military training academy was in New York and they used English freely in the Shingumi. 

"You actually took me seriously? Come on, Shinta. You just met her!"

"I judge people well."

"Yeah? And look at me, Shinta, LOOK AT ME!"

"What?!"

"I'm a big, bad girl. Don't you think?" 

"I think you're pretty nice. Although you're younger than me, you behave like my MOTHER."

"Oh, and I'll be taking that as a compliment. Or should I take it as an insult?"

"Oh, the sarcasm!"

"You know me, Shinta."

"Of course I do."

"Don't act stupid."

"That's an understatement."

"NO IT IS NOT."

"We'll better get back." 

"You're changing the subject."

"Just get back inside. Maria *blushes a little at saying her name* has just woken up."

"Whatever, Shinta, whatever."

So they went back inside.

Maria was sitting up. Shinta said that it was okay, as she was going to recover soon. "Thanks for saving me, Shinta. If not for you..." Maria trailed off. Hanae was whispering in his ear, "Don't swoon, don't swoon, don't swoon..." Shinta swallowed and said, "It was nothing." Then he caught himself and said, "NO! I mean, saving you was something, but really, I...Don't deserve your praise." He blushed deeply and wanted to hit himself. _Why am I so muddle-headed? _Kanna sensed something weird and got up. Pulling Hanae outside, she began asking a series of questions.

"Is Shinta interested in Maria?" Kanna asked, smiling in interest.

"I guess so. You know, you can practically see it on his face."

"I guess. That's so cute! Wanna help them?"

"How? Any ideas?" Hanae then looked into Kanna's mind. "I guess not, huh, Kanna-san?"

"Oh. Just call me Kanna, please! And, yeah. But I know Maria has a soft spot for our ex-commander, Oogami-san...Although she did not tell me."

"Not bad. You can mind-read pretty well."

"Heheh...Not at all...It's just that I know her too well. Even though she's a person with many concealed feelings..."

"True."

"Does the Shingumi know about it?"

"I don't think the rest of them will be interested to look at that dope's mind."

"Aw, he's not that bad."

"Really!"

* * *

Then, there was the emergency meeting. The Shingumi were invited too.

"We suffered heavy casualties, but most of the Hanagumi have recovered quite well now," Kaede noted, scrutinising the room. "Thanks to Shinta-san," she added. Shinta nodded. "And this little one has come up with a plan to destroy the enemy once and for all. Komugi?" Kaede told the team proudly, presenting Komugi to the Hanagumi as if Komugi were her own daughter.

"To completely wipe out the enemy, we must go to the place and time where and when the demon first appeared. It's like a grudge from yesteryear...It's hard to explain," Komugi said. "Nani? That would be DANGEROUS de~su!" Orihime protested, wincing as her ankle was moved. "You people have your Koubu, I don't see why not. And Taichou-sama told me you have a time machine. And it is rather big," Komugi retorted quietly. Kouran interrupted with a look of pride on her face. "3 Koubus wide and 1.5 Koubu's high!" Everybody face-faulted except for Komugi and Kouran herself. Maria sweat dropped and said, "Isn't it an inappropriate time to talk about your wonderful creations now, Kouran?" Sakura then asked, "Gomen nasai, Komugi-chan, demo...Wouldn't it be dangerous? And furthermore, my injury, Sumire-san's injury and Orihime-san's injury takes a long time to heal. Like this, the Hanagumi will only be reduced to Kanna, Kouran, Leni, Iris and Maria-san. How can we fight such a big monster with only 5 Koubu?" "Sou ka..." Kouran voiced out loud. Iris and Sumire were not at the meeting because Sumire was the most seriously injured at present (some glass had shattered and the shards cut her badly) and tended to faint suddenly. She was in her room with Iris looking after her.

Then Ryuue suddenly spoke.

"As the Chinese say, _**When you drink the water, think of the source where it comes from.**_ It teaches us to look for our roots. What I'm driving at is this: We should think carefully. The monster suddenly appeared. I know some of you think that it may be a curse. It is not impossible. But who is the one casting the spell? It must be an enemy of the Tsukigawas. Or else the monster would not come and look for trouble, right? That's why we must look deeper and try to discover where is the root. It could lead to some witch doctor, or maybe just a spiteful victim of the Demon War of Hokkaido who was in control of the monster. Or maybe the monster was a victim who was later transformed into a demon and came to seek revenge on the Tsukigawa family because although they could help, they refused to. There are many options. We just have to find out what happened. Komugi is right, we really must go into that period of time. As for the lack of man-power...Taichou?"

Ryuue looked expectantly at Hanae. "Now, don't ask me...Shinta?" She raised her eyebrows at the higher-ranked officer. He said, "Of course! Anything to help the Hanagumi. Yes..." Kanna and Hanae exchanged a look. _Anything for Maria, rather..._ Then they snickered, as they both knew they were thinking the same thing. 

* * *

They decided to move off the day after the next. The Hanagumi would take Tokirou-chan while the Shingumi could just teleport themselves through time. However, only 5 Koubu could go at one time, and only Kouran could work the the machine. So, she was to be the 'chaperone' and send two other Koubus, besides hers, to that period in time. 

And finally the day came. What was to become of them?

-TSUTZUKU-

Author's note: **I'm really getting scared now... Anyway, from this chapter onwards, I'm going to do voice-overs, like the one below. It gives the fic more life, doncha think?**

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Yuri: **The Hanagumi are going off now!**

Tsubaki: **I hope they'll be all right.**

Kasumi: **The Shingumi is with them, we should not worry. They're really very strong...**

Tsubaki: **Okay then. Sumire-san, what are you doing out of bed?!**

Sumire: **I cannot...miss out...a fight...**

Sakura: **What will happen? I'm really worried...Stay tuned for the next chapter, "A Quest To The Past"! Featuring the Hanagumi and the Shingumi in the tumultuous Tokugawa era!**

Orihime: **Please be careful, minna-sa~n!**


	5. Chp. 4 - A Quest to The Past

Yet another ST fic var banner = 0; 

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_ Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_ (alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: The fate of the Hanagumi is in my hands...*shivers* What a huge responsibility!

Translation: **shousa - Major (military rank) Chuui & Shoui- erm...sort of like...ranks. I dunno how to explain in English. I still can in Chinese. Ryoukai - (in this case it means "yes sir") ikimasu - let's go minna - everybody**

** Chapter 4 - A Quest To The Past**

As Hanae reached the era, she sensed a very strong evil energy. Then Komugi gave her the usual battle situation analysis. 

"Taichou-sama, overall spiritual energy is 10 upon 10, negative is 7 upon 10, positive 3 upon 10. Negative is towards south-east and south, radius of approximately 15.76 miles, decreasing. Which means it's moving closer. Positive is west of present position and present position itself. Which is the Hanagumi and us. Death energy is 4 upon ten, increasing, southeast of here as well."

"Very well," Hanae said with the seriousness she somehow could muster from the depths of her humorous personality. Then she addressed Shinta, "Shousa, you heard Komugi." "Yes. Chuui, could you please arrange the Shingumi in the necessary formation. For drastic measures...I'll let you decide." "Ryoukai." ( The Shingumi addressed each other formally during battles. It was a 'tradition'.) Then, addressing Rose, Hanae said, "Shoui, during the formation you take charge of Komugi and Ryuue. Chiyone shall come with me." (_Readers, apparently the ranks of most of the Shingumi are rather high. The formation requires splitting up, so...You know._) 

Then, the Hanagumi arrived. The first batch, that is. Which was Maria and Kanna. They did not have a nauseating ride because, quoting Kouran on the way there, 'the machine was built for the comfort of Koubu, ya?'. In which Kanna's response was, "So you value the ' life' of Koubu more than us, huh, Kouran?" "Rather," came the grinned reply. As they exited the time machine, Hanae went up to them.

"Maria, Komugi will give you the current report of the situation. Please get ready for battle soon."

"Hai."

As Komugi gave the report she gave Hanae earlier, Hanae thought, _The Hanagumi should take the the south-east while we take the south-west...There should be two separate battle going on. I wonder why the demons split up? _

** * * ***

Shinta and Kaede, who were at the battle station, were looking at the different radars constructed by Kouran and the twins, who were the technicians of both groups. But what they showed was the same: The locations of both groups. Then Kaede spoke. "Shinta-san, do you think they will be all right?" "I'm sure the Shingumi will pull through, we have to...In order to maintain ourselves as the Teikoku Dai-Ni Himitsu no Kumi (_2nd Secret Group of The Imperial Army)_. As for the Hanagumi...*pauses and blushes* I-I'm sure they'll come through." _With Maria as the captain, of course,_ he added silently. "But...I'm a little worried about the Hanagumi. They just recovered, and I'm afraid...But Kaede-san, you have faith in them, and that's all that matters. They know somebody is egging them on. Like the Shingumi and me. We trust each other, and no matter what, we do not keep anything from each other. Literally," he smiled, thinking of the Shingumi's ability to read minds. Kaede smiled. "You're right, Shinta-san...I'll believe in them."

"Change formation, minna!" Hanae shouted. Everybody brought their weapons along, because they were at the stage when the 'pioneering' monsters were at the peak of their strength. At this command, Chiyone and Hanae went to the right. Hanae stood 45-degrees north-west of Chiyone. Then Ryuue stood in the middle while Rose and Komugi mirrored Hanae and Chiyone. 

And then they attacked.

* * *

"All right, the Formation of Repelling Evil, please!" Maria called out. The Hanagumi moved into their positions and started to attack the demons. With only 5 people and without Sakura, Sumire or Orihime, the Hanagumi had a very hard time. Kanna swept down 2 weak ones which had just gained maturity with her special attack. Maria did her special attack 2 times before she was able to kill off one 4-day-old demon. Leni speared a few at once with her lance, and Iris blasted 3 at the same time, but only 1 fell to the ground. Kouran attached her mini-robots to 5(!) and, thank goodness, managed to get rid of all of them. The Hanagumi knew it was going to be hard, but when they thought of Sumire, Sakura, Orihime, Yoneda, Kaede and the Shingumi, they started to pick up speed.

When they finally finished off all of them, they heard a loud boom in the distance. Leni located the area to be west of where they were and they headed there.

It was the Shingumi's battlefield.

* * *

Hanae was injured badly, as in this particular formation, she had to cover all the Shingumi. It was her duty to. Usually she did not have any injuries, but as she was of Tsukigawa descent, the demon took more notice of her, causing her a lot of trouble. And the enemy was stronger than any enemy the Shingumi had ever faced. Giving the last of her energy to the battle, she silently prayed, _I will not die..._

* * *

Only Hanae was injured badly. The rest of the people suffered minor injuries. Hanae was poisoned very badly, but she did not come into contact with water, so the poison did not turn into sure-kill. Because of this, Shinta could extract her blood through tubes and needles. But the problem was, a lot of blood had to extracted. So Shinta tried to find a healthy 'donor'. He checked with Kaede and found out that the eligible from the Hanagumi were Kouran, Maria, Kanna, Sumire, Tsubaki and Orihime. However, those who were on medication and hadn't recovered were ruled out. So only Kanna and Tsubaki were left from the Hanagumi. But from the Shingumi, only Shinta was the most eligible. He did not have any injury and his blood type was O, while all the rest of the Shingumi were AB-s and AB-minuses. The rare types. But although Hanae was the most special, she was the ordinary blood B. 

Kanna agreed, but Tsubaki was hesitant. She was terribly afraid of pain and could not stand even the prick of a needle, what more tubes passing through her skin? Nobody else knew that she was afraid of pain, as she managed to conceal it very well over the past few years. So Shinta himself gave Hanae his blood. 

"Thank you, Kanna. I owe you one," Shinta grinned. Hanae's face color was getting better, and she was not as cold as before. Kanna perked up when she heard Shinta say 'I owe you one'. She had a brainwave. "You owe me one, right?" "Yeah. Why?" "Oh nothing. You just have to tell something to Maria." "*blushes* M-Maria? What do I have to tell her?" "Just tell her how you feel. That's all. You just have to SAY something, it's better off than being the meal attendant, right?" Kanna recalled the first time Sumire lost a bet to her. She had to serve tea and rice to the Hanagumi during meals a few years back. Shinta was horrified. Sputtering, he said, "How...Maria...Hanae told you...I...HUH?" Shinta was getting terribly confused. "I noticed it when you were looking at Maria with that look on your face. It was SO obvious. Anyway, hurry up already, Hanae's waiting. She's gonna die if you don't give her blood right now!" "H-Hai!"

Kanna exited the room, and Hanae grinned at Shinta with a look similar to the Cheshire Cat's.

"Ne, Shinta, Kanna gave you advice as well huh?"

"You heard everything?!"

"*snaps* What am I, deaf?"

"You're as fierce as you are healthy when you are sick."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"N-Nothing, Hana-chan."

"Don't forget I can read minds. It's no use keeping something from me."

"Hana-chan, I-"

"Don't get so serious, I'm just joking," Hanae says in her usual gentle tone. Usually she uses her stern tone only around Shinta and Ryuue. Then she starts humming a tune.

"What's that song? It's so familiar..."

Hanae looked wistful. She glanced down at her hands, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Looking straight at Shinta, she said, "Otome no Namida (_Tears of The Maiden_)...Tetsu used to sing it." Shinta could only muster a soft "Oh" and then the room became silent. They knew they were both thinking the same thing, something that happened years back.

[FLASHBACK]

Hanae was just a small girl (11), and Shinta was 16. They were in military school. There was a young boy, maybe about 15, with them. His name was Tetsu. He was playing the guitar and singing, while the other two were laughing hard at the lyrics.

[2nd FLASHBACK]

Just 4 years ago, when Hanae was 15 and Shinta 20, there was this really big accident in the laboratory which caused an explosion. Tetsu was helping to put out the fire. He helped those trapped in the fire to escape. Then they waited. And waited. After an hour, Hanae could not bear it any longer and rushed into the fire. She couldn't find Tetsu. He died.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

The blood transfusion was then over. Hanae was sobbing. She couldn't control herself. Then Shinta suddenly said, "You loved him, didn't you?" Hanae nodded quietly. "I guess so."

Then Shinta started to sing the lyrics of one of Tetsu's love songs. "I'm just a person who is not loved in return..." Shinta started. Hanae continued, "I'm just person with love undiscovered..." "And I'm in love...With someone we should not even have touched...Or spoken to, rather...Nevertheless, I still have my teddy bear for comfort." Then they laughed until Kanna poked her head in and said, "Dinnertime!"

* * *

At dinner the Shingumi and the Hanagumi managed to find a way to kill the monster. This was actually devised by the quiet-around-the-Hanagumi Rose.

They were eating when she suddenly spoke up. "The mountains!" she exclaimed. Those who could read her minds (Iris included) immediately read hers and understood it in a flash. But those unfortunate ones who could not, they had to depend on Rose to tell them.

"All we have to do is to go up to the mountains where they first originated. Since they could reproduce, that means in the first place there were two of those demons. We just have to go back to that period of time and kill them all! The first 2, I mean. And if somebody is behind it all, we have to kill that person or thing off and everything should be resolved!" Rose said.

Then Maria, who had barely touched her food that evening (which was rather unusual) spoke up. "Won't that change a lot of history? How about this: Tsukigawa Hiromatsu might not have married his wife, but another woman, and then Hanae might not even be here!" Hanae took this all in with interest. "That's true. I don't think you people know why the generation before mine died. You see, the monster comes whenever the Tsukigawa family is at their highest numbers, and all we know about it is that it just appears, most presumably from the past. So my family was killed by the demon. About...17 years ago. Ask any old person in Sapporo. You'll get the details. So if the demon didn't kill my family, they'll all be here, right? And if they're here I won't be able to enter the military...Because 50 years ago the Tsukigawa-shiro merged with the Kuro...And we were back to square one. Inter-family wars and feuds, that sort of thing. But anyway, can ANY of you come up with a better solution?" she asked. 

The table was silent. Everybody was thinking very hard. They had to options. One was to go back in time and kill off the pioneering demons, and Two was to just keep killing them as they appeared. But while One was more practical, it could change the future and the present. However Two was unethical, because when the Hanagumi was no more, who would kill the demon? They were in a confused state. Then Leni shouted, "We can lift the curse!" However spirits were dampened again when Komugi replied quietly with, "What if it's not a curse?" However Shinta, who had been observing the whole situation, spoke. "We could give it a try. If it is a curse, we can just let the person lift it and let it stop here. In this era. Or else...Hanae might not even be born. THAT would be baa-aaad." Therefore they decided to go to the snowy mountains of Hokkaido (in the past) the next day. However who was to go?

Kaede was to choose the teams. Team A: the team which was going to Hokkaido, to the past. Team B would be staying in the present, just in case the attacks got bad. So it was decided that Shinta, Rose, Hanae, Maria, Kanna, Kouran, Sakura and Leni were to go to Hokkaido. The rest were to stay in Tokyo, to make sure the attack were under control. Shinta was to command Team A, while Kaede Team B. Constant updates were to be send through telepathy by Hanae via Komugi. And they set off.

-TSUTZUKU-

Author's note: A little confusing, I know, but please forgive me, I'm not even 13 yet! And I'm after all a BUDDING writer...

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** Sakura: I wonder if it's really a curse...**

** Maria: If it is, it will make things a lot easier.**

** Kanna: By the way, Maria, has Shinta told you anything?**

** Maria: Huh? What do you mean?**

** Kanna: I guess not. Never mind.**

**Sakura: _JIKAI! "A Stage in Time"! The Hanagumi and the Shingumi are joining hands to fight against the enemy...What? Shinta likes Maria-san???!!!_**


	6. Chp. 5 - A Stage in Time (Pt. 1)

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: This was actually redone, cuz my computer got a virus and everything was erased. I would've had to retype the previous chapter as well, if not for my backup disc. But as for this chapter, I really had to retype it... What a pity, ne, minna? Anyway, this chapter will have 3 parts, but part 2 is terribly short. Hee... Dozo~

Translation: **Asahi - (apparently,) the name of a mountain Minna-san/Minna - Everybody Onegai shimasu - (in this case, it means) "I'm waiting for your guidance" Ittekimasu - I'm going Matte - Wait**

**Chapter 5 - A Stage in Time**

The arrived at the foot of Asahi Mountain at about 6 in the morning. Very early. "This is it, minna! Asahi Mountain!" Hanae said somewhat too cheerfully. The other 2 Shingumi and 5 Hanagumi gulped as they looked higher and higher. Maria frowned. "A very strong aura...Of evil." This made the group gulp even more. "Are we in Sapporo?" Kouran asked. Hanae shook her head. "No, we are in Asahigawa, another part of Hokkaido. This is where the demons first surfaced. They went all the way to Sapporo... I wonder why." Then Shinta briefed them on the paths they were to take. 

"There will be 4 pairs, 1, 2, 3 and 4. 1 will take the East of the mountain, 2 the West, 3 the North and 4 the South and Central. The Shingumi shall draw lots, as it is vital to have at least one Hanagumi member in a pair. Um... I don't know why, you have to ask Kouran." Rose got Sakura ("That's not TOO bad"), Hanae was with Kanna ("Hey, partner!") and Shinta got...Maria. At this Kanna and Hanae looked at each other knowingly. Kouran and Leni were together ("A very...um...Unique combination," *By Maria*). Then Kouran explained the reason for every pair to have a Hanagumi member.

"I have installed a new feature in the Koubu, and it will give a signal as soon as you press it. It's the button marked 'emergency'. Please feel free to press it ONLY when you have found the enemy, or when the enemy has found you. Or when you feel that you're in a very dangerous situation. I have also added a latch that only you can open, to prevent the demon from reaching in to scratch you. Na, Maria-san? So, don't be worried, ya?"

"Thank you, Kouran. Shinta, can we know our positions now?" Maria asked. Shinta said, "Rose and Sakura, you guys are 3, so, unfortunately for Rose, you are doing the North." Rose said, "What did you mean by that???!" She flicked her long auburn hair. "I can climb any mountain I wish to!" Kanna mused, "She sorta seems like Sumire, doncha think?" Sakura giggled and bowed, "Rose-san, onegai shimasu!" Rose took out her weapon from Tokirou-chan (She was lazy to carry it with her and therefore used the time machine to transport it) and the Hanagumi gasped. Rose casually asked Sakura, "Shall we go?" Sakura exclaimed, "Even her weapon LOOKS like Sumire-san's!" Rose looked at her steadily and stated, "Notice you said LOOKS. This is something which cannot be compared to other weapons...Can we go NOW?" "What is it?" Kanna asked. Hanae explained for her. "It's 1.8 metres long, and it's called the _Sakibara-Naginata. _It's actually a naginata *literally, Sumire's weapon* with two blades on each end, facing in opposite directions, as you can see. Rose refuses to admit it's a naginata, however." Hanae sweatdropped. Rose crossed her arms and 'hmphed'. Then she picked up her weapon, which she had set on the floor, and announced, "Ittekimasu." "*stuttering* Ma-matte!" Sakura rushed after her in her Koubu. 

Kanna told Maria, "She really seems a lot like Sumire, don't you think?" Maria nodded, then smiled. "The only difference is, Rose can cook." "Doesn't look like it." Suddenly Rose appeared beside Kanna. She told Kanna snobbishly, "I HEARD that." Then she disappeared. As she looked at Sakura slowly climbing up the mountain (or rather 'steaming' up), Kanna said, "I guess teleportation's really cool." 

Kanna and Hanae were assigned to the east, while Leni and Kouran did the west and Shinta and Maria did the south and central. They were to meet at wherever area the enemy was going to be found. So, they set off. Shinta suddenly remembered something. "It's 6.45 a.m. now, if everything is smooth, we'll meet here at noon!" he shouted.

* * *

**6:47 a.m., January 21, 1732, Peak of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"It's hard to breathe in here, Rose-san, and it's cold," Sakura struggled. Rose, took a deep breath, nodded, and held up her hand. Sakura asked, "You want me to wait?" Rose, nodded, then disappeared.

* * *

**6:48 a.m., January 21, 1732, East of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"Hanae, what's that?" Kanna pointed to a silver coloured patch. They moved closer. Hanae said, "Looks like metal to me." Kanna pushed it, and it gave way. It was too small for the Koubu to get through, so Kanna suggested getting out of the Koubu. Hanae stopped her. "No, don't leave the Koubu alone. I'll go alone, my _Kaijin _is with me." "Kaijin?" "My sword." "Oh. What should I do then?" "Stay here. If I don't come out within 20 minutes, hit the button. All right?" "Okay. Be careful." Hanae nodded, then went into the hole. Kanna shivered. "Man, it's damn cold in Hokkaido..."

* * *

**6:50 a.m., January 21, 1732, West of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"Leni, see anything?" Kouran asked. They had already combed the whole area.

"Negative."

"So, we should wait for orders, ya?"

"Affirmative."

Kouran sighed and said, "I want to go home... And I set Tokirou-chan to 24 hour-mode!"

Leni smiled. She said, "We'll wait for orders. Hm, it's cold here..."

Kouran grinned. "Finally you're speaking a bit more than usual. Of course, it's cold, Leni, I thought it's always cold in Hokkaido."

"True..."

* * *

**6:50 a.m., January 21, 1732, South of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"I've circled the foot of this mountain, Shinta. There doesn't seem to be anything lurking here."

"All right then. We'll go to the centre."

"Fine by me. Um... Need a ride?"

"I guess I do."

Shinta held on to the Koubu as it sprang upward.

**6:54 a.m., January 21, 1732, Central Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"*getting out of Koubu* Goodness... There's a very strong aura here."

"You're right, Maria. I think it's in the heart of this place... But we can't blast it open, can we?"

"No... We have to find a way to get in."

"But it's not our area... We'll just wait here until somebody finds something."

Maria nodded. Shinta looked up towards the area Rose and Sakura were covering. _I hope they're okay up there..._, he thought. He noticed Maria shiver. "Cold?" he asked with concern. Maria just smiled and said, "I'm fine."

* * *

**9:23 a.m., August 16 1926, Daiteikoku Gekijou, Hanagumi HQ**

"Rose!" Ryuue exclaimed. "Ryuue, please get us some supply of oxygen. SOMEHOW! It's impossible to breathe on that mountain!" Ryuue went to Kaede for help. Kaede immediately got some coats. Komugi came up to Rose. "It's my latest creation, Put it on and breathe normally. It'll go bad in 3 hours, so here's some extra." Komugi handed Rose something which looked like a small bowl with a few holes at the bottom and one elastic band around it. There was a long tube connected to it and it led to a packet of something. Komugi explained to Rose, "That's oxygen." Rose nodded and teleported back.

Sumire looked at the 3 other remaining Shingumi. She went over and asked Ryuue, "Why are you helping us?" Ryuue was taken aback. 

"Well... The Powers That Be asked us to assist you..." 

Orihime butted in. "Who are the 'Powers that Be'?" 

"Shousa and Taichou's bosses..." 

"Oh..." the two were satisfied with Ryuue's answer. 

Iris got curious too. She asked, "The Shingumi live in Tokyo, right?" Ryuue nodded. 

"Then why don't they help us protect Teito?" 

"That's because it's the duty of the Hanagumi to do that, Iris. Just like it's our duty to protect Shikoku and Honshu, the two of four main islands of Japan." 

At this enlightenment, the 3 Hanagumi exclaimed, "WHAT?!" 

"Shikoku," Iris began. 

"And," Orihime continued. 

"Honshu?!" the three of them exclaimed. 

Chiyone hopped into the room. Within a second she took all that had happened within the past few minutes (courtesy of her sister's brain, she could mind-read too, you know ~_~) and shouted, "RYUUE! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TOLD THEM! NOW WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN..." Everybody sweatdropped.

* * *

**6:57 a.m., 21 January, 1732, Peak of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

Sakura opened the latch of the Koubu. Rose threw the 'oxygen bowl' in. Rose put it on, so Sakura could see how to use it. Rose put on her coat and gave one to Sakura. 

"What do we do now?" Sakura's muffled voice came out from inside the Koubu. The top of the Koubu was open. Rose suddenly teleported on top of the Koubu, her legs hanging down into it. Sakura was looking as Rose's feet. Rose told Sakura, "We'll just wait here until we're tired of it, then we'll just walk around the mountain. I guess. I don't care."

"Rose-san, do you know you're a lot like Sumire-san?"

"I guess."

"Then..."

"You know, I can read your mind."

"Oh...Sorry."

"There's nothing to apologise about. In fact I want to apologise to you..."

Looking up, Sakura asked, "Why?"

"I behave like a snob. However... I'm no spoilt brat. Believe it or not, I was orphaned at 1, then I grew up in an orphanage. I guess if I didn't get adopted I would never have had today."

"Who were you adopted by?"

"A nice couple. An old couple. They taught me manners, all those thing, you know, all those etiquettes... But then when they died I believed that I could only be true to myself, and I disguised my true self behind a mask. Acting that I was rich... That sort of thing. And I was only 15! But I felt terrible. Well, thanks to all that socialising I did in America, I managed to find some contacts and found the orphanage in which I stayed for 6 years. I discovered that my father was Japanese, my mother American. They were killed in an accident."

"Then what happened? How did you come to Japan?"

"Why should I tell you?" Rose asked sharply.

"Sumimasen! I shouldn't have asked so much."

Rose's expression softened. "It's okay, I guess I'm too sensitive. But then nevertheless, I'll tell you. I went to my father's hometown, Hakodate, which is also in Hokkaido. When his relatives learnt that I was his child, they were suspicious. My father was apparently from a rich family. So they tested me on the Sakibara-Naginata. Amazingly, I was a natural! So they gave me the weapon...Said I had to preserve the family name... Sad to say, I thought it was all a load of rubbish. I didn't think there was any point in mastering a weapon. Then I met Taichou..."

"Hanae-san?"

"Yes. She was orphaned at a young age, but unlike me, she grew up in the military. I was a few months older than her at that time. Yes, I was 16. About 3 years ago. Then I joined the military too... I was the last pioneering member of the Shingumi to join the military. Almost immediately, the military trained me, and within two years, I had risen to the rank of Shoui. So...It's been 3 years. 1923, I joined the army. Then in 1924 I finished my training. Later that year, 30th of August, the Shingumi was formed, with just Shinta, Taichou and I. It was Taichou's birthday present, it was her birthday that day. Another member, Yule Carlton was added in late December that year. In the middle of last year, the twins joined. That's basically the history of the Shingumi."

"You must respect Hanae-san a lot then."

"Yes..."

* * *

**7:00 a.m., 21 January, 1732, East of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido******

"Kanna...!" Hanae scrambled out of the hole in fright. Kanna got out of her Koubu. "You look terrible, what happened?" Kanna asked. Hanae sat down on the ground. "The demon... I saw it eating... a pregnant lady." Kanna looked horrified. "What?! Beasts..." "Then... I killed it. Moving deeper in, I saw a man chanting something. So I guess it's a curse after all. The room the man was in had such an evil aura, it completely repelled my pure aura and I got thrown back. But I had to go and see what the man was doing, so I kept my distance. Sometimes, without knowing it, I got too near and got thrown back again. I understood some of the words, because it was in some unknown language and a certain Hokkaido dialect people often use in Asahigawa," Hanae reported. "Then are you going to forward this information to Tokyo?" "Yes. I'll give them an extract of my memory as well, they can see it with this invention of Komugi's... I received a report from Rose too, but it seems she has already told the people at the HQ as she went there herself. It's too cold up there, so she went back for some oxygen..."

"So I guess we're the lucky ones today?" Kanna quizzed.

Hanae smiled weakly, then brightened up. "Can I press the button?"

Kanna facefaulted.

* * *

**9:30 a.m., August 16 1926, Daiteikoku Gekijou, Hanagumi HQ**

"A new report is coming up, please attach me to the Mind-Viewer, Onee-chan," Komugi quietly ordered her sister. Chiyone nodded happily and said, "Hai!" She put a visor on Komugi's head. This visor was attached to a screen. It could play memories. Komugi played out Hanae's memory on the demon consuming the pregnant woman.

"Iris hates the monster!"

"That's cruel de~su! Unforgivable de~su!"

"I will never let that demon off! If I do, my name is not Kanzaki Sumire! Oh-hohohohoho!"

"*this is said in Chinese* Heavens! What kind of demon is this?"

* * *

**7:06 a.m., 21 January, 1732, West of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido******

"Kouran! Fireworks!" Leni exclaimed.

Kouran laughed. "East side, ya? I think Hanae and Kanna have found the enemy... Yossha! Let's go, na?"

Leni nodded.

* * *

**7:07 a.m., 21 January, 1732, Peak of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido******

"Yay! FINALLY somebody has found the enemy! Let's go, Sakura!" Rose jumped up happily. She added, "Finally we can get these things off... Come on, I'll teleport you there, it's faster." Rose touched the Koubu and told Sakura to sit tight. Then in a flash of light, they were on their way to the east side of the mountain...

* * *

**7:07 a.m., 21 January, 1732, Central Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido******

Maria touched Shinta's arm lightly. "Shinta, I think they've found the enemy." Shinta awoke. "Oops, I fell asleep?" he asked Maria sheepishly. Maria smiled and he almost fainted. He managed to compose himself and said, "Let's go, then." Maria got into her Koubu and Shinta held on to it. "Hold tight, Shinta!" she shouted. Then they blasted off with a trail of steam behind them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Iris: Iris hates the monster!**

**Orihime: I agree, it was too cruel, ne~e!**

**Sumire: But isn't it very dangerous for them to be there? Maybe the demons of that time ATE people instead of scratching them!**

**Chiyone: Isn't that more dangerous for the Shingumi? They don't have the Ryoushi Kachuu to protect them!**

**Ryuue: Taichou will ensure everything's fine.**

**Komugi: I think the battle is ending soon, win or lose, we do not know. **

**Ryuue: Let's just hope Taichou is still here after the battle, I'm afraid she won't be born...**

**Sumire: JIKAI! A Stage In Time, PART 2! What will happen? The mystery of the Tsukigawa clan's fate remains: Will history change too?**


	7. Chp. 5 - A Stage in Time (Pt. 2)

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: I didn't know this chapter would be so long...Saa, Dozo~

Translation: **Demo - But Daijoubu - It's all right Kuru - It's here Yamete - Stop it**

**Chapter 5 - A Stage in Time (PART 2)**

**7:09 a.m., 21 January, 1732, East of Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido **

"So what's the problem, Hana-chan?" Shinta asked. "The enemy...It's inside. And it is a curse!" Hanae exclaimed. 

"How do you know?"

"Is a human behind it? Or is it a demon?"

"What's the purpose of him casting the curse?"

"Hey, relax, she can't answer so many questions at once," Kanna told them. Hanae started to tell them what she saw.

_A few minutes later..._

"I see, so the Koubu can't enter, na?" Kouran mused. Hanae and Kanna nodded. "And the evil aura is extremely high?" Maria questioned. Hanae and Kanna nodded again. "So what are we waiting for?" Shinta asked. "Demo, how do we get the Koubu in? It's extremely dangerous without the help of Koubu. You saw what happened at the last battle, even with the Koubu we could barely manage!" Sakura reminded in frustration. Hanae and Kanna nodded vigorously this time.

Rose started to mutter, "What do we do, what do we do? Let the Shingumi go in or we blast the hole or we just burn the whole mountain, no, that's impossible OR lure the demon out and end up getting cursed ourselves OH I just CAN'T imagine THAT-" "Rose, calm down, you're always like this when it comes to ideas. Don't think about it anymore," Hanae advised. "Hana-chan... Actually Rose is right. We COULD go in, and if anything crops up we can alarm the Hanagumi..." Shinta mused. Hanae frowned, hesitating. She had forwarded all that was going on to the Hanagumi HQ back in Tokyo. Then suddenly a message from Kaede 'hit' her.

"Minna! I've got it! Kaede-san just reminded me, we can TELEPORT!" Hanae laughed. Rose stopped muttering (finally) and said, "Why didn't **I **think of that?" Shinta then said, "But we should have some backup out here..." 

Kanna said, "Kouran should be with us, in case the Koubu goes mad and causes an earthquake or something ** (*Kouran* "Koubu is very amiable!" *Kanna ignores her*)** and Leni has to go in, she's can analyse things faster than us mortals ** (*Leni* "Kanna, for your information, I am not immortal...")**...Sakura is a must, of course, she can kill off a few with one of her Haja 'stuff' ** (*Sakura* "Arigatou, Kanna!" *beams*)** and of course Hanae ** (*Hanae* "Oh, I'm getting so proud!")**, Rose I'm not too sure ** (*Rose* "Say that again and there WON'T be a Kirishima Kanna!")**, but Maria ALWAYS does the backup so she should remain out here ** (*Maria* "It's fine by me, Kanna.")**... Hanae?" 

Hanae grinned wickedly, and immediately knew what Kanna was driving at. She cleared her throat and said, "Rose has to go in, her _Sakibara Hansha Ryuu _(_Sakibara Reflecting Style_) is FAR superior than most of the Shingumi ** (*Hanae* "Excluding me, of course, hehe!") ** so she just HAS to be there. But as for Shinta, I'm sad to say he's quite useless ** (*Shinta* "The truth HURTS, Hana-chan!" *Hanae ignores him and continues*)** so he SHOULD stay here." "So...It's decided?" Sakura asked.

Hanae confirmed, "Shinta and Maria, any objections?" Maria and a blushing Shinta shook their heads. Maria noticed that Shinta's face was very red, and asked, "Are you all right? You don't look too well." Rose was examining her nails and Sakura was talking to Leni and Kouran, so nobody took notice of the wicked chuckle of Kanna and the evil laughter of Hanae... Except for a puzzled Russian and a blushing Japanese man.

* * *

**7:27 a.m., 21 January, 1732, Inside Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

Hanae and Rose teleported the four Koubu into the part of the tunnel that was big enough for the Koubu to move in. Rose forgot about the repelling of the force and went up to the room, just to be 'swatted' back into the stone wall. "Ouch." She stood up. "That hurt." Then Kouran went over. Hanae reminded her not to get too near, but Kouran said, "There's the Koubu to protect us, na... Daijoubu! Yossha, let's move on!"

"Is that glass?" Leni asked Hanae. The girl muttered something in German, forgetting Leni could understand her. Leni's eyes widened and she said, "Hanae-san, that wasn't a very nice word..." Rose nodded in agreement. Sakura sighed and said, "So it's glass?" Hanae nodded, "Unfortunately." The room had glass walls and they could see the man practicing some dark art there. "Creepy," Kanna shivered. Everybody nodded affirmative. 

_After a minute of silence..._

"*English* Oh what the heck, let's break the glass," Rose said impatiently. Hanae shook her head. "Not now... He knows we're here. And we can't go beyond the radius of about 4 metres... Since he makes no move, that means..." Rose read her Taichou's mind. "You think that there's something wrong with the glass? Well, read my mind!" Rose said a little sarcastically. Hanae's eyes widened. "Oh no! Minna, the enemy might be approaching! Kanna, break the glass, hurry! Kouran, please help her to break it, the rest of you prepare and...KURU!"

Rose attacked first. "_Sakibara Kaze no Takeru _(_Howl of the Sakibara Wind_)!" When Kouran heard it, she said, "No wonder it's called howl of the wind..." Rose caused a mini-hurricane and the 4 _Toki no Akuma _ got blown into Hanae and Sakura's combined attack.

"_Kaijin no Tsunami, Ouka Houshin _(_Tidal Wave of the Sea God, The Releasing of Cherry Blossoms _*I'm not sure about 'Ouka Houshin', it's just a rough translation*)_!_" And the 4 demons said goodbye. Then the sound of shattering glass... (*Kanna* "Dammit my Koubu's gonna get spoilt!")

* * *

"So you're the mastermind...," Hanae faced the man. He was in his late 5os to early 60s, and had a demented look. He was muttering incoherently, "Kill the Tsukigawas...They made my family break up.... Kill them... Hahaha... Punishment...Retribution! Hahahaha!" Hanae was at the end of her tether, she gave the man a slap with all the strength she could muster (which was a LOT) and he flew across the room, slamming into the wall about 4 inches. Hanae was panting, and the man was unconscious.

"She's good!" Kanna exclaimed. Everybody (except Hanae) sweatdropped. "It's true!"

* * *

**7:47 a.m., 21 January, 1732, Outside Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"Did you hear that, Shinta?" Maria asked. Shinta frowned and nodded. "Could it be an earthquake?" he wondered out loud. "I don't think so..." The 'earthquake' was actually the result of Hanae's slap.

* * *

**7:50 a.m., 21 January, 1732, Inside Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"Oi! Wake up!" Kanna prodded the man. He got up and asked, "Who are you people and what do you want?" Hanae said coldly, "I am a member of the Tsukigawa clan. It's not our fault if the demon comes and destroys everyone!"

"My family suffered because of your selfishness! They were killed because the demon ate them up, and you couldn't do anything! These babies, my babies, are the fruit of the Kanehara clan's hundred-year-old spirit summoning research... These 'Shichi-sei Ka' (Seven-Star Fragrance) are the spirits of our lamented ancestors!" 

"They do not deserve such a nice name, ya?" Kouran stated.

"Evil beings definitely do not belong in this world... Do you know how much harm you have caused? Do you know? You have caused the country great distress as you have made the monster hunt down all members of the Tsukigawa through time and space! We fled from Hokkaido to everywhere in the world...Even from the northern most Kuril Islands to the brink of Okinawa and the islands in the south! Not only did the monster destroy us, it destroyed many other families as well! 20 years from now, the Tokimiya family was totally wiped out because your monster, your creation, had to feed on human bodies to survive. I do not know why this characteristic stopped when the 143rd generation of Tsukigawa's were killed and the demons ate fowl. We still managed to survive. Now, I'm in the 452nd generation. And it may well be the last of the Tsukigawas. If we could survive until now, why can't you? Why don't you carry on the family line instead of wasting your time here, summoning stupid spirits and causing the deaths of so many people? Tell me!" Hanae was crying, and she had accidentally clutched the blade of her sword and her hand was bleeding. The man looked demented, and was laughing uncontrollably.

"Stop it!" Leni burst out. Everybody stared. Leni looked angry. "Lift. The. Curse. Just LIFT it." Hanae added with a quiet rage, "And she's not begging you." Then she was interrupted by Rose. "Matte! Is it possible to lift it just to the year Taichou's parents and immediate family got killed? Which was...1909," Rose stated. "*English* Can you stop laughing and lift it? Or," Rose decided to choose a different approach, "can you lift it at all?" Everybody sweatdropped. "Um, Rose? He can't understand you," Kouran said, sweatdropping. Rose put on her trademark I'm-actually-embarrassed-but-I-pretend-I'm-not look and said, "Oh. Right." Then she said it in Japanese.

The man was actually crying. Hanae had actually talked some sense into him. "You're right...I'm a bastard. I don't deserve to live on earth at all!" He took a knife and wanted to kill himself. Rose stopped him. "Yamete! If you want to die, you're welcome. But lift the curse first! And hurry up, don't think you're the last of the Okane (okane = money) clan you can let everybody wait for you!" Everybody sweatdropped again. This time, it was Sakura who reminded Rose. "Rose-san, it's Kanehara, not Okane," Sakura giggled despite the situation. Rose pretended not to care and brushed it off with a light "Whatever" and proceeded to reprimand the repentant man even more.

"...Besides, what can you do after you die, what's the use of putting a curse on the Tsukigawas? If one of your descendants, IF you have ANY for that matter, marries a Tsukigawa, won't that be disastrous? And-" "AND that's quite enough, Rose. Thank you," Hanae interrupted. The man nodded slowly. "I'll do it." 

Everybody cheered, and the room was filled with smiling faces...

* * *

**8:10 a.m., 21 January, 1732, Outside Asahi Mountain, Asahigawa, Hokkaido**

"Saa, minna! We'll go home now!" Hanae said cheerfully. Shinta nodded, and he, Rose and Hanae disappeared in flashes of blue and red lights. The Hanagumi started boarding Tokirou-chan. The Kanehara stood from afar, waving to them, tears running down his face. He would never forget the lecture he got from Hanae.

And, finally, the 2 week long battle was over.

* * *

**9:00 p.m., August 16 1926, Daiteikoku Gekijou, Hanagumi HQ**

"What a long day..." Sakura moaned, massaging her back. She sat down on her bed. _Thank you, Otou-sama, for preserving me in times of peril, _the girl thought, remembering her back's encounter with the demon's claws. Then she felt like going to the terrace.

_There's somebody here already..., _Sakura thought, as she heard voices. As she approached, she found out that the voices belonged to Hanae and Kanna. _Strange...I thought the Shingumi left after dinner?_ She was rather embarrassed when she found out what they were talking about.

"Okay, so in a nutshell, Shinta likes Maria, but he still hasn't told her, according to my observations. How's it at your side?"

"Maria hasn't shown any signs of infatuation, REALLY liking him or anything of that genre so far."

"It's so hard to play matchmaker!"

"Agreed. Especially if one party doesn't really show any signs for the other except for liking him as a friend."

Then Sakura burped.

_Oh no! That was rude...And I think they heard it!_

Hanae and Kanna loomed in front of the girl. "You heard it?" Hanae said, raising an eyebrow and tapping her foot.

"Yes." 

Suddenly Kanna and Hanae said enthusiastically, not daring to shout because most of the theatre was asleep, "Saa! Welcome to the Matchmaking Club, where dreams come true!" Sakura sweatdropped.

Unfortunately for them, another Hanagumi member was on her way to the terrace and just HAPPENED to hear everything...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Sakura: Sumimasen!**

**Kanna: Daijoubu yo!**

**Hanae: Relax, ne...Who's that?**

***The Fourth Person*: Ohohohohoho! *I'm sure you know who it is now* Thank your lucky stars that I'm not Yuri! She'll spread this out in no time!**

**_*Yuri sneezes, in her room* _Yuri: *sleepy voice* Which idiot is talking about me behind my back...**

**Sakura: *in a giggly sort of voice* JIKAI! **CONFESSION AND DEPRESSION!** What will Shinta-san tell Maria-san? Nani?! I'm a member of the Matchmaking Club? Ne, I shouldn't have burped...**

*Author's note: Well, it gets more light hearted from here! Hehehe... I wonder what will Shinta say...You've gotta ask my imagination, ne?


	8. Chp. 6 - Confession and Depression

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: Finally I finished the battle. I hated the ending. Anyway, I hated the whole battle thing. Hm...I didn't understand it when I chose to say Sakura burped. I guess my brain wasn't functioning well. But Yui said it was funny, so I kept it anyway. This is quite a long chapter... It's more light hearted now, so...I hope you'll enjoy the rest of this fic! Oh, one more thing. There's a bit of intro to the Shikigumi here... Anyway, just read on.

Translation: **Dare - Who Hanabi - Fireworks Ano - *In this case, it means* Um Saa, dewa, mata ne - So...I'll see you later!**

**Chapter 6 - Confession And Depression**

[Recapturing]

**Sakura: Kanna, Hanae and myself were talking at the terrace and suddenly someone appears! Please don't let it be Maria-san...**

[End of Recapture]

(The following is about the same as the previous voice-over)

"Ohhohohohoho! Thank your lucky stars I'm not Yuri! She spreads rumours like a raging wildfire!" Kanna mutters, "And your HAIR is a raging wildfire..." (*You know which hairstyle...*)

In her room, Yuri awakes, sneezing, but is still in a sleep mode. "Which idiot is talking about me behind my back..." Then she goes to sleep, falling back heavily on her bed. (I wonder what Sumire will do if she knew Yuri called her an idiot??)

"Sumire-san!" Sakura exclaimed, while Hanae said, "Welcome to the Matchmaking Club, where dreams come true!" Sumire scoffed. "I do NOT want to be in such a low class organization." Hanae smiled good naturedly, "Hey, I was just joking."

*At this, Sakura gives a reasonably loud sigh of relief*

Then a voice calls out, "Dare?!" *this is in JAPANESE -_-;;*

Everybody shrieks, "Maria!" (With the exception of Sumire and Sakura, with the 'san' suffix) then disperses as fast as they can.

Maria runs to the 'scene of crime', but finds no one there. _That's strange...How did they disappear so fast? And I'm positive they called my name..._ Then her eye caught sight of the broom closet. She opened it...

Hanae thought, _She's out there..._She touched Sakura and teleported just as the closet door flew open. 

"You idiot! How come you didn't know Maria-san was on night patrol?" 

"I'm not a god!"

"Obviously."

"Good evening, Sumire, Kanna. What are both of you doing CROUCHING behind a wall? You could have just stood up and hid behind it, you know."

"Maria, you're making us look stupid."

"Where's Hana-" Sumire's mouth was cupped by Kanna's hand, silencing her.

"Hana?" Maria raised an eyebrow.

Kanna searched for words. "Hana...Hana...HANABI! Yes! Ano, Hebi Onna (snake woman) was looking for Kouran's hanabi! Kouran sent you here to look for it, didn't she?" Sumire nodded rather reluctantly.

Maria was amused. "And what earth-shaking power did Kouran acquire to put her in a position to SEND Sumire up to find the hanabi?" Kanna didn't think of that. But Sumire broke free of Kanna's grip and smoothed her hair. "I decided to do something for my fellow Hanagumi member for a change," she said with a flick of her hair. "Oh really?" Maria said a little doubtfully. Then there came a loud cry of "We're home!" all the way from the main entrance. Maria looked out of the window and Kanna and Sumire took the chance to escape to their rooms. Maria turned around, and her face gets all SD (because she can't find anyone) and she sighs. "Those two are behaving really weird..."

* * *

"Shihainin!" Kaede exclaimed and went up to Yoneda and the Baragumi, ignoring the Baragumi. Yoneda said, "Now, Kaede, don't misunderstand, I didn't come home with these people." Kaede smirked. "I know you didn't... How is Oogami-san?"

"He's all right, well with the Pari-Hanagumi. They're taking care of him pretty well."

"Sou ka... Ne, how are the girls of the Pari-Kagekidan?"

"They nice. Really nice...."

"Maa maa! You're getting that look in your eyes again..."

"Hey, how come nobody takes notice of us?" Kikunojou whined.

"Saa, dewa, mata ne!" Hanae said to Sakura, oblivious that Kaede and the rest was there. As she turned (away from Sakura) she saw the Baragumi and Yoneda. She screamed when she saw the Baragumi.

"Hello~~~ HANAE-CHAN!!!" the trio chorused.

She ran behind Kaede. Kaede asked Hanae, "You know these people? The Baragumi?"

"The FREAKS Incorporated, you mean...Unfortunately, I do. It's a long story, I guess I won't be going home tonight."

"It's okay, you can use Oogami-san's room."

"That would be nice, but I think I'll sleep on the floor, it's not nice to sleep in his bed..."

"What else were you thinking?!!!"

"No, don't think that way, Kaede-san. I mean, I'm not his replacement or anything..."

"Oh. I get it."

"WAI WAI!!! HANAE-CHAN IS GOING TO LODGE HERE TONIGHT!!!"

"Kaede-san, I'd better come with you before I change my mind..."

Yoneda and the Baragumi go back to their rooms while Hanae follows Kaede.

* * *

Hanae begins the story of how she got to know the Baragumi, in the dining hall.

"It was last year when I met those, erm...People. Yeah. They're actually quite nice, but annoying at times, and...How do I put it... Sexually confused? Anyway, it happened when the Baragumi came to our textile shop to buy some cloth. Apparently Kikunojou wanted to take up sewing to be MORE feminine. So they marched up to Ryuue, gave him their names, the poses, etc. etc. and even added, 'We're the Baragumi.' Of course, Ryuue already knew that. Since then they've been coming over to buy cloth, and other odds and ends. Actually, they're one of our regular customers."

Kaede took this all in with interest. "I see... So the textile shop is only manned by the Shingumi?" 

"No. There's the Shikigumi (Four Seasons Unit) too."

"Shikigumi? I've never heard of them before..."

"Actually, they're more commonly known as 'The Four Seasons' (Shiki). I think you have some classical music fans in the Hanagumi, don't you?"

"Of course! I've heard of the four girls... But I didn't expect the group 'Shiki', which Count Hanakoji always talks about, is actually part of the military..."

"They WERE the third secret group of the military, until they lost one of their members... Then they were sent to us."

"Oh...Why are they called the Shikigumi anyway?"

"Their names. Harumoto Matsuko, which symbolises spring, as the kanji for her surname states. All their surnames begin with a season. I guess it's fate. Then there's Natsutomo Kanako (Summer), Akishima Shiki (Autumn) and Fuyugaki Ume (Winter). Shiki is their captain." (*And no, her name is not the kanji for 4 seasons. Her name is the kanji for 'tree of wisdom'. Go figure.*)

"I see...*laughs* We're sidetracking."

Then, there was a sound of shuffling behind them.

"Who is it?" Kaede and Hanae called.

"It's me, Maria."

Maria sat down and Hanae gave her a brief description of why she (Hanae) was here. 

Maria smiled and then her expression turned to a puzzled one. "Do you two know the reason why Kanna and Sumire have been acting so weird lately?"

Of course, Hanae knew, but she couldn't give the game away. "Um, no." She crossed her fingers under the table.

Maria nodded, and said, "I'd better get going. Good night."

Kaede returned with a 'oyasumi' while Hanae waved cheerfully. MUCH too cheerfully.

* * *

_Morning breaks..._

"I really have to go. But I will be coming here often, if you don't mind."

"No, of course, we don't. But...What for?"

"Aa, kore wa himitsu desu, Kaede-san. Demo, honto ni arigatou! (Ah, this is a secret, Kaede. However, thank you so much!)"

"It's okay. Anyway, take care!"

In a flash of pale blue light she was gone.

* * *

Sumire, Kanna and Sakura were in the kitchen, making breakfast. They were discussing about last night's issue.

"Ne...Kanna, Sumire-san, I find it very hard for Shinta-san to meet Maria-san... The Nihonbashi is so far away."

"Mattaku. That's the problem."

"I really don't wanna say this, but I thought of a way to let him get closer to Maria...However, It's gonna be hard on her."

In a flash Sumire and Sakura appeared beside Kanna, who was fanning the stove. (They were eating French toast...Yum!)

"Actually, we can-"

"Kanna, why are you using this stove instead of the gas one?"

The three got a shock as Maria appeared and Kanna, fanning too hard, got ash in all of their faces. Maria was not affected as she was pretty far away from the stove. The screams brought the rest of the Hanagumi who were hanging around the area to the kitchen.

"What happened?" Orihime cried.

Then Leni started laughing as she saw the faces of Sakura, Sumire and Kanna. Sumire was pissed off. "BAKA! This is an expensive dress! And my hair is ruined!" Kanna muttered, "Finally..." Sakura giggled. Then she whispered to Kanna, "I liked her old hairstyle better, ne, Kanna?"

* * *

Hanae came over that morning, after they had their breakfast. They were going to have a rehearsal at noon, so she took the chance to talk to Kanna and Sakura. 

"Where's Sumire?" she asked.

"Gone to do her hair."

"Oh... Any plans yet?"

"Kanna does!"

"Yeah, I do."

"Aa, Hanae-san! Good morning."

"Yes, good morning, Sumire."

"So what's the plan?"

"Oh. The plan. It's an evil plan..."

"Go on, tell us. Don't beat around the bush."

"Oh, all right then. Well, it's this...."

_A few minutes later..._

"Wow! Good idea...I hope it won't be too dangerous for Maria-san."

"Hanae-san?"

"Hanae?"

"Oi, Hanae, you there?"

"HANAE!"

"Huh???"

Sumire and Kanna raise their eyebrows and tap their feet while Sakura just looks at Hanae.

"*reads their minds* OH. I was thinking. I could ask Komugi do it for me. She could do it, a genius in science, you see... But pneumonia... Hm, we have to make a trip to the hospital. Don't worry, it won't kill her."

"You sure?"

"Affirmative."

"So it's settled then."

"All right, I'll update you as soon as I can, I'll go back now."

"Hang on, oi, hang on!"

"What?! *annoyed*"

"The Shingumi knows that Shinta...Maria?"

"They read his mind."

"Oh, okay."

"Bye. *teleports*"

* * *

Hanae went back to the textile shop and found Komugi in her room. She explained the plan to Komugi and Komugi said softly, "We can't enter the hospital illegally. However, I don't think it's necessary to use pneumonia. We actually can use the simple 'flu. Just make it a more serious case. I think it's enough. It's hard to find a pneumonia patient these days, so I'll get the 'flu virus from Matsuko. She just went to see Shinta for medicine."

"Okay. So...Onegai shimasu, ne, Komugi? (I beg of you, okay, Komugi?)"

"Hai."

* * *

"I got it, I got it!" Hanae shouted that evening. Heads turned. "Got what?" Iris asked. Hanae knew Iris' psychic powers, so she 'read-proofed' her mind. Sakura, Sumire and Kanna immediately excused themselves and went off with Hanae. Maria looked at them with a curious look in her eyes. "I wonder what they're up to?" She turned to Iris and Leni (Orihime was in the music room, they were in the lobby) and they simply shrugged.

"Put this in her drink. Any drink."

"What's this?"

"The 'flu virus."

"Okay then." 

* * *

The four of them were surprised when they saw Shinta in the lobby. Leni and Iris had disappeared. Kanna was about to greet Shinta when Hanae hushed her. "Don't spoil the moment," she grinned.

"You mean...?"

"Aa! A confession of love!"

"Sumire-san, you're too loud."

"Shh!"

* * *

"Maria... I've got something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Actually I... I..."

"Shinta, I actually quite busy right now, so I'm so sorry, I've got to go-"

"NO! I just want to say I LIKE YOU A LOT!"

Time seems to freeze at this point. Maria looks shocked. Shinta blushes furiously. The four plotters have a surprised but pleased look on their faces.

"Shinta... This is so sudden... I just...Can't accept it right now... I'm so sorry!"

Then she rushes off, starting to blush (even worse than Shinta at that) and frowning.

"Kanna, Sumire, Sakura. Don't drop it into her drink yet... I don't think they want to see each other right now."

"Whatever you say, Hanae-san."

"Okay."

"Hai."

* * *

"Oh *hic! Yo, *hic*Hana-chan *hic* you're back.."

"Shinta!"

"Taichou, he came back just a while ago... He's been drinking nonstop!"

The concerned Shingumi and Shikigumi looked towards Hanae. The Shingumi read her mind, and immediately knew what happened. They cleared away, pulling the Shikigumi along. 

Hanae couldn't bear to see Shinta like that. She hugged him and called him the way she used to when she was very young. "Shinta Nii-chan... Don't be sad... I know you love her a lot. Give her some time."

Shinta started bawling. 

* * *

"Maria, what's with you?!" Kanna said, exasperated.

Maria was clinging on to a bottle of vodka, with three empty bottles on her right and eight unopened ones on her left.

"Maria-san! Are you going to finish all that?" Sakura cried.

"Mattaku... Ano baka!" Sumire cursed.

Maria seemed oblivious and continued drinking. She was very confused.

_Why am I like this? _she asked herself. _Do I like him? I don't have any more feelings for Taichou, he only has feelings for Sakura anyway... What a joke! But why... Is it because... I don't dare to love him...?_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Ryuue: Poor Shinta! He's been drinking nonstop!**

**Kanna: Maria too.**

**Ryuue: I hope they're all right...**

**Kanna: JIKAI! **EMBARRASSING SITUATIONS! **AH? Iris...?**


	9. Chp. 7 - Embarrassing Situations

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: Oh darn... My editor, Yui, encouraged me to do this CRAZY and embarrassing chapter. Erm...it'll focus a little on Iris' 'growing up', it's not very specific cuz I WON'T tell you what Iris got, and the 2nd part is about how Kanna, Sumire and Sakura manage to 'poison' Maria with the 'flu bug, courtesy of Matsuko. And the third is going to focus on how Shinta manages to manage Maria's...Erm...Haha, you'll see. Saa, dozo~! (I'm warning you, there's a lot of GIRL STUFF in this chapter. You have been warned. You CAN skip this chapter, but you won't know what's going on in the next. Well...)

Translation: Dame - cannot/no

**Chapter 7 - Embarrassing Situations**

_Late morning. VERY late morning..._

"Kanna." 

"Yes, Kaede-san?"

"What's wrong with Maria?"

"She's...Depressed. I don't really know why, but the one who's actually supposed to be depressed is Shinta."

"He is. I just visited the Shingumi HQ today. Anyway, Hanae told me about what happened...I guess Maria's affected in some way or the other."

"Yeah. How's the Shingumi's business?"

"That's what the meeting that I'm going to today is going to focus on... The Shingumi's business is not doing very well. Their only customers this month are those people who live in the basement. So we're going to discuss what's going to happen to them, this is the first time the Hanagumi is being involved in this, I wonder why they asked us to attend today's meeting. Hanae should be there, along with the Shikigumi's captain."

"I see. Hang on...People who live in the basement...Oh! The Baragumi, you mean."

"Yes. Anyway, I have to get ready for the meeting right now. Could you please inform Shihainin for me?"

"Okay, I'll do that right now."

*A scream was heard, Iris' voice*

Kanna and Kaede ran to her room, which was just around the corner. One look at Iris and the two knew what happened...

* * *

"Oh," Sumire said, "She got it?" "Guess so," Kanna replied. Kaede laughed, "First experiences are always so sweet. I remember when I had it the first time, I actually-" "Kaede-han!" Kouran protested.

"Iris is an adult now, ne?" Sakura smiled. Then she blushed as she realised what she had said. Orihime giggled. "Sa~kura-sa~n, really..."

"Why am I like this? And Iris has always been an adult, so why did Sakura say I have become an adult?" Iris asked those who were present.

Maria, who had come out of her solitude to see what had happened, bent down and said, "It happens to every girl sooner or later, Iris. And... Sakura said that for a reason, okay?"

"Why?"

Silence reigned. (Not to mention a lot of sweatdrops too...)

* * *

"I've been trying to get it but I just can't, Iris! Can you teach me?" Kikunojou asked the French girl. Rose just dropped by on her way home and scolded Kikunojou. "Go away, you freak! Of course you can't have it, you're a man." "I'm not!" "You are, and shut up. What are you looking at my chest for?! You won't have real attributes anyway, so just get out of my face..."

The two kept bickering and Iris had two choices: To blast or to go. She chose to escape from the situation and went off to find Leni. _Iris is too tired to scold those children, _she thought.

* * *

"Leni...You know about...?"

"Yes. Are you tired?"

"Yes, how did you know? Leni, you're so clever!"

"Iris. I just happen to be a girl too you know... Whenever you have it, you're tired most of the time."

"Sorry Leni! I don't know why I'm so confused about you at times. *giggle*"

"It's okay, but just remember, you have to put something to absorb the...Erm...The..."

"Hai! I get what you mean. I'll go write to tell Onii-chan, ne?"

"DAME! Dame desu..."

"Why? I told Papa and Momma already...Why can't I tell Onii-chan?"

"Dame yo...It's...Not appropriate...To tell a man about these things."

"Papa is a man."

"Your papa is different... He's your father, he can know."

"Onii-chan is my onii-chan!"

"Oh, Iris..."

* * *

_That night, about 9 p.m. or so..._

"Sumire-san, is the virus with you?" Sakura asked. "Yes." "Let's do it, then!" "Wait!" "What? Sumire-san, we can't wait any longer!" "Where's that Muscle Woman?" "She said she'll be with Maria-san." "She's there already?! LET'S GO!" "SUMIRE-SAAAAAAAAAN~! *being dragged violently*"

"Oi, Hebi Onna (Snake Woman), why are you so late?" Kanna complained. Maria was asleep. Kanna was sitting in a chair just by the door. "How are we going to put the virus into Maria-san's drink?" "Easy. Put it in that glass of water, Maria just HAS to drink some water in the middle of her sleep." "Why is that?" Sumire asked. "Why must I tell you, Hebi Onna?" "Why, you brute!" "Shh!" "YOU SHUT UP! *Kanna and Sumire*" Sakura cowered. 

"Sorry, Sakura..." Kanna apologised and Sumire flicked her hair again. Maria stirred and woke up. In a sleepy voice she asked, "Why are all of you here?" Sakura took hold of her sleepy state to go over to the glass of water and put the virus, which was in some sort of liquid form, into the unfortunate body of molecules. The three grinned to each other and replied with one voice, "Nothing~!" Then they tip toed out of the room while Maria DRANK THE WATER, and went to sleep.

The three plotters slapped a high five, and then Sumire made a face. "I actually touched your hand!!!!! Oh no, where's the disinfectant..." "You...spiky haired ignorant...FOOL!" "Ohohohoho! Is that all you can think of? I have changed back my hairstyle, thank you very much." Sakura sighed, "I guess some things never change..." then she added in a softer voice, "Ne, Oogami-san?" 

* * *

Maria woke up in a feverish state at about 3 a.m. in the morning. She tried to get up, but was too weak to do so. She cursed a little in Russian, then started to call out, hoping that somebody was nearby. Unfortunately, nobody was. However, Hanae, at that moment, arrived at the doorstep of the Daiteikoku Gekijou... And snuck into Sumire's room.

"Sumire-san! It's me! PUT THAT DOWN!" Hanae said in a fierce whisper. "Oh. It's you." She put down her naginata. 

"How is the plan moving?" 

"Smooth."

"Wait...When did you give it to her?"

"Just now, about 9 p.m." 

"Uh-oh."

"What? Is there something wrong?"

"She needs a doctor immediately! Matsuko...Almost died that night because her fever was too high! Sumire, you find Kanna and Sakura and go to Maria's room immediately! Take care of Maria, try to give her a lot of water. I'll go get Shinta."

"Hmph! Why me? Oh, all right!"

* * *

Shinta was being dragged out of bed by Hanae. "Who...Oh, Hana-chan! What..?" "Maria is going to DIE if you don't give her an injection immediately. I've got your medicine bag, come on..." "Huh? Hey!"

They were in the Teigeki in the next second.

* * *

Maria was extremely hot and she was subconscious as well. However, she knew what was going on. Shinta and Hanae appeared and Sakura and Co. were told to leave the room. Hanae tried to roll up Maria's long sleeve as Shinta prepared the needle, but Maria's sleeve was simply too tight. "What do I do, cut it?" Hanae asked in frustration. Shinta nodded but as Hanae was about to cut the blouse Maria put her hand on Hanae's. Hanae stopped and waited for Maria's instructions. Maria's hand moved to her shirt button, and Hanae asked, "You're sure?" Maria nodded. "But...Shinta's here!" "It's...okay..." she moaned. "As you wish."

* * *

"Is she okay?" Kanna asked anxiously as Shinta emerged from Maria's room. "Yes, but she needs a lot of care for the next two weeks or so." Sakura asked, "Who's going to take care of her? We have to rehearse! And Maria-san's part..." "The Shingumi can take care of her," Hanae replied. Shinta said, "Hanae..." "No...We can't. Shinta can do it," Hanae quickly corrected herself. Shinta looked alarmed. "WHAT?!"

* * *

"Minna-san, I have a number of things to announce." Kaede had called for a meeting in the canteen just before breakfast the next morning. Everybody was there, and strange enough, the Shingumi was there too. Not to mention the Baragumi and the San-nin Musume. Shinta and Maria were missing, of course.

"First, you all should know that Maria suddenly caught the flu bug yesterday, a very serious one at that. So, her part in the play 'Sleeping Beauty' shall be replaced by her understudy, which is Kanna." 

"But the Sleeping Beauty is SUMIRE!!!" Kanna wailed. She had to play the Prince instead of the King. 

"Therefore, the King shall be played by Ryuue." Murmurs arose from all around the table. 

"The second thing that I'm going to tell you all about is the Shingumi's title of secret group has been transferred over to the Hanagumi with effect from today. And, the Shikigumi will be transferred to us. The Shingumi will be transferred over under the name of 'Hana-Shingumi'. The Shikigumi stays the same. And the Teigeki will be extended, construction is to be started next month." "So we'll have an extended family as well!" Kouran stated happily. Sumire was curious, and asked, "Why the sudden transfer?" Kaede was hesitant, so Hanae spoke up.

"Our textile shop...Went bust. The one nearer to the train station stole all our customers away, except for our regular customers, the Baragumi." Everybody was shocked. "So, the People Up There asked us to give our funds to the Hanagumi, which was quite a lot, by the way, and we were transferred. The Shikigumi, which was under us, is going to be under the Hanagumi too, but the San-nin Musume will take care of them. Ne?" Hanae looked at Tsubaki, Yuri and Kasumi. "That's a large responsilbility..." Tsubaki started. "Indeed..." Yuri trailed off. "I'm sure we can do it!" Kasumi replied confidently. The other two face faulted.

* * *

_At about the same time in Maria's room..._

"Shinta?" Maria opened her eyes. Shinta turned around. "Oh, you're awake." 

"What are you doing here?" 

"I gave you the injection, remember?" 

"Oh. Yeah. Ouch..." 

"What's wrong?"

"Um... Premenstrual cramps," Maria said, blushing.

"Oh..." Shinta blushed as well.

Then Maria's eyes began to widen. "Oh no... Um...I think...I've stained the bed..."

"Oh. My. God. *in English*" Shinta said, shocked. 

"Okay... You're my doctor, I don't have to feel so embarrassed, do I?" Maria tried to lighten up the tense situation. "Yes. What do I do?" Shinta asked her rather stolidly.

"Help me get up, will you? *helped her up* Thanks."

"Now what?"

"Get a bed sheet from that cupboard over there *pointed* and then change the stained one. Will you do that for me please?" Maria said weakly. Shinta nodded and helped Maria into a chair, then proceeded to work on the bed. Maria slowly walked to her wardrobe and took out...um...whatever she needed, and puzzled about where to change. 

Shinta saw this and said, "I can go out if you want me to." 

"No...Get me to the bathroom, if you don't mind..." 

"Where is it?" 

"Downstairs."

"Hang on, I'll get Hanae to teleport you there."

"Fine..."

* * *

"Good morning everyone..." Shinta greeted as he entered the dining hall. There were assorted 'ohaiyou-s' from the Hanagumi, Baragumi, Shingumi and the San-Nin Musume. "Um, Hana-chan will you please read my mind and then come with me?" Shinta asked her, blushing a little. Hanae did that and smiled. "Let's go..." 

* * *

"Thanks Hanae," Maria said, sighing. "It's okay, just take care of yourself," _and I'm so sorry I got you into this..._Hanae thought. Maria was still feverish and she was getting into bed. She had just taken her medicine and had to rest. Shinta was snoozing in the chair. _He really cares a lot for her, _Hanae smiled in satisfaction. Then she decided to take a peek into Maria's mind. _I see...That's good!_ Hanae smiled again. Then she left the room quietly.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Sakura: Oh no! Maria-san is so sick...**

**Sumire: It was all your stupid idea, Kanna-san!**

**Kanna: Well, it worked!**

**Hanae: It sure worked... Let's just hope Maria will realise her feelings before Shinta...**

**Sakura: What will happen to Shinta-san?**

**Hanae: Well, we'll just have to pray that Maria will find herself fast...JIKAI! **Changes! **What will happen to Shinta and Maria?**

**Sakura: *thinking* _It's not the end yet...Oogami-san..._**


	10. Chp. 8 - Changes

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: OK, I guess you guys understand the previous chapter... I mean, the thing which Iris got. Clue: Maria got it too. *ojigi* Gomen nasai, Maria-sama! Anyway, this chapter is SOOOO romantic! Saa, dozo~!

Translation: Konban wa - a basic Japanese greeting, the equivalent of good evening (hehe)

**Chapter 8 - Changes**

"You have woken up, my fair princess," Kanna bowed. "Who are you?" Sumire asked. "I am the Prince of..."

"They're doing really well," Yoneda remarked from backstage. "Hai..." Hanae replied, appearing suddenly beside him. "Ah! You scared me, Hanae...I'm an old man, you know..." "How is the building of the new wing?" she asked, smiling. "It's good. After all, it's only a small wing, for the Shikigumi and Shingumi's lodging and a few extra rooms..." "What are the extra rooms for?" "Oh...Just in case the PARI-Kagekidan comes over...With a certain captain of the Hanagumi..." Yoneda said with a twinkle in his eye. Hanae returned the grin as she read his mind. _I'll have to congratulate Sakura then..._ Hanae thought, smiling to herself as she watched the play coming to an end.

* * *

Maria woke up suddenly, panting heavily. She saw Shinta asleep in the chair beside her and felt strangely relieved. She blushed and thought, _Why am I..._ She then shook it off and looked at the clock. _It's only 7 p.m.... _She stole a look at Shinta. _Good, he's not up yet..._ She tip toed out of bed and walked to the door. "Where are you going?" came a voice from behind her. "Uh...I.." Maria became nervous. "Maria...How many times have I told you to stay in bed this week?" Shinta said gently but firmly. Maria dropped her head. "Okay okay..." She then climbed into bed. Then she protested, "It's the fourth time this week! How come you just can't seem to sleep?!!!" Shinta laughed. "Come on, I'll give you a check up. If you pass my test, then you can go out, okay?" 

"Congratulations, you've passed the test, but you've not fully recovered, you still have a runny nose... But you're allowed visitors, okay?" Shinta told Maria. She then went out of the room happily. 

Maria then bumped into Komugi. "Maria-san, konban wa," the girl said quietly. "Oh...Hello. You must be...Komugi, right?" "Hai. I'm glad you're fine now. The play has just ended. Kanna-san, Sumire-san, Ryuue and Rose are all fighting. I think the stage is almost going to fall apart. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back." The little girl said all this VERY calmly, and she disappeared in a flash of orange light. _Oh yes...The Shingumi are moving in here by Christmas...Oh well, after all, it is just a small wing. _

As Maria approached the stage, she heard Ryuue and Rose quarrelling up a storm in English.

"What do you MEAN I acted as if I was a fool?"

"You were supposed to be a KING, you idiot, not a JESTER!"

"You don't have to contradict whatever I do, you witch!"

"MORON!"

"IMBECILE!"

"BAKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Then her gaze was riveted to Kanna and Sumire, quarrelling at the other end of the stage, having another one of their big fights.

"Kanna-san, you should have said 'What should I do' in Line 14 of scene 37, not 'What should WE do'!!"

"So?!"

"SO?!!!!!!!!!! What do you mean, SO?!"

"It's just a MINOR mistake!"

"MISTAKES are STILL mistakes, no matter big or small!"

"CACTUS WOMAN!"

"Why, you BRUTE!!!"

Maria sighed and wanted to stop them when a voice stopped her. "No...This is interesting." It was Hanae. "They've been quarrelling since the play ended half an hour ago." 

"Kanna and Sumire can quarrel for hours!" 

"Ryuue and Rose can quarrel for WEEKS! Sometimes I really don't know what to do." 

"Weeks? That's something..." 

Then Shinta appeared. "Well...Hana-chan, it's enough, isn't it?" Hanae giggled, then walked up to the stage. 

"Okay people, shut up already," Hanae said, her voice a little raised.

"Cactus woman, listen..."

"No, I don't know why you fed Etsu again, but you DID! You overfeed her!"

Hanae sweatdropped at what Rose was saying. _From plays to cats? That's JUST like them..._ she sighed inwardly. Then she sent a strong vibration through the stage and the four on the stage screamed with one voice, "**EARTHQUAKE!!!**"

Hanae pulled Ryuue and Rose aside and scolded them, while Shinta stood beside her. "Hana-chan..." "YOU SHUT UP! Now, you two..." Shinta meekly shut up and stole a look at Maria.

"God knows how many times you have quarrelled in all the years you have been here! And now I'm sick, you both shouldn't be so childish anymore! Oh, I give up..." Maria started sneezing. Shinta went up to her, thankful to escape the crescendo of Hanae's voice, steered her out of the hall and said, "You HAVE to rest, and I HAVE to go..." She laughed and let Shinta nag her out of the aisles. Sumire and Kanna stared.

"Ne, Hebi Onna, Maria is very close to Shinta now..."

"Yes. Even closer to him than to you... But maybe he understands her more..."

"No, he just understands her in a different way. I'm sure of that. 

"Oh yes, where's Sakura?"

"How would I know?!"

They then got into a heated argument with the genre being Sakura's whereabouts. The hall was really noisy...-_-;;

* * *

"Goodnight, Maria... AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Shinta asked in shock as Maria pointed her gun at him. "Just...practicing..." she said rather innocently, putting down the firearm. "As your doctor, I COMMAND you to sleep now. As your friend, I WANT you to go to sleep now," Shinta said firmly. "Are we friends?" Maria asked, pretending to be aloof. "That is all up to you," Shinta said with a smile. "Okay, I give up! You win! Next time when I get sick, I better not ask you to be my doctor...You're too strict," Maria confirmed with a nod, in mock seriousness. "Goodnight, and don't talk so much," Shinta teased. Maria slept in a few minutes, and Shinta watched her quietly. _I love her so much..._ He then sighed and went out of her room, switching off the lights.

"Ah! Hana-chan! Um...How are the two rascals?" 

"Fine. I just gave them some little punishment-"

"HELP!!!!! SHINTA!!! ANYBODY!!!! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Hanae laughed evilly as the cries for help continued...

* * *

"It's all your fault, you white woman, we're stuck in this tree!"

"Let's not get racist..."

"I'M NOT RACIST!"

"Oh shut up."

* * *

Shinta was packing in his room. Hanae then entered it, without knocking, as usual. "So, Shinta...How are things?"

"Hana-chan...What do you mean by 'how are things'?"

"*oh, what the heck* I mean, between you and Maria!"

"Oh. That. Actually, I'm not packing for the new wing or anything... I'm moving back to America."

"YOU CAN'T! Why?"

"I haven't received any signals from her... I love her too much. Seeing her everyday will put more burden on me, so I'll just end my misery once and for all. I won't see her when I'm in America. That's better."

"No, it is not! What about everybody else? What about me?"

"What about you?"

"You promised... You promised me that although Tetsu was gone you'll take care of me! Then now, you're leaving me alone... Don't look at me like that! *reads his horrified mind* Dream on! I won't like you in that way... You're always my big brother, it's hard to find some one to replace that... How am I supposed to see my sister-in-law if you move to America?!"

"I can always marry a local there."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MARRY A LOCAL THERE?! MARRY A RUSSIAN, FOR GOODNESS SAKE! AND YOU **KNOW **WHICH RUSSIAN I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"Don't be so naive, Hana-chan! I haven't screamed at you before but I will do so now! I shall walk my path, and even if I fall, it's MY path. Do you get it?!"

"You're just afraid! Afraid to tell someone you like her!"

"I told her!"

"You didn't wait for her response, you big idiot! I HATE YOU!!!!!!"

Hanae left his room in anger. Shinta plopped down in a chair and massaged his temples, frowning. _Am I really...Afraid?_ he thought. Nevertheless, he continued packing.

He went to see Maria for the last time that night. She was still sleeping soundly. He sighed and put a letter on the desk. Then he went back to the textile shop. _Tomorrow...I'll be going back to America... Maria...I love you. _

* * *

Maria woke up from another nightmare. She looked around the room for the only person that could comfort her with simply his presence: Shinta. Then she glanced at the clock. _Almost 7..._ she thought. Then she stood up. _Shinta doesn't usually leave the room at this time..._ She was puzzled. Then she caught sight of the letter.

**Dear Maria,**

**I have to leave. I can't bear loving you and looking at you at the same time, seeing your carefree expression. I don't know whether you have the same feeling as I have about you. I am, as Hana-chan has said, afraid of telling you how I feel. Telling you again. I was hurt that day when you pushed me away. But I still love you. I will always love you. I have always loved you...**

**Miyaue Shinta**

Maria gasped. She got changed and ran out of her room. Nobody was up yet. Then she ran all the way to the textile shop.

"Hanae! Hanae! Where is Shinta? I must see him. I...I need him!" Maria cried. Hanae was sitting at the counter. "You're rarely so flustered, Maria. Shinta just left for the harbour- Hey! MARIA!" The Russian had already run off.

Maria was devastated. She couldn't find Shinta anywhere. She asked around and found out that only 3 passenger ships had left the harbour that morning. Then she turned around to run back to the textile shop - When she found him.

* * *

Going up to him, Maria asked Shinta, looking at him straight in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me? Why?"

"I was afraid you didn't like me. Very afraid..."

"Shinta... I...I really need you. You can't leave!"

Shinta was apparently shocked by this. "You...You need me?!"

Unknown to them, Sakura, Sumire, Kanna and Hanae were hiding behind a tree, watching. 

"This is so romantic!" Sakura exclaimed.

"VERY! Ohohohoho!" Sumire laughed.

"It's so...ew. Mushy," Kanna stated.

"Shh..." Hanae kept them quiet.

* * *

"Why...Why didn't you tell me you needed me earlier? Why wait till now?"

"Do you hate me, Shinta?"

Shinta hugged her, surprising her. "No, of course not. I told you in the letter, I'll always love you..." Maria pressed her face against the warmth of his shoulder. "Shinta... I love you too."

* * *

"I CAN'T LOOK!!!!" Kanna screamed.

"Ah...If only...Oogami-san..." Sakura said dreamily. 

"Ohohohoho! I have to get a man as romantic as Shinta as my husband, yes..."

"DREAM ON, HEBI ONNA!"

"What do you mean by that?!"

Hanae was just smiling to herself, just happy to see Shinta and Maria together. And, not to mention, her future sis-in-law...

"CACTUS WOMAN!!!"

Hanae sweatdropped.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chiyone: Taichou's birthday's coming soon!**

**Rose: How can we celebrate it? We'd better not include Ryuue, he'll make a mess of it...**

**Orihime: So are we invited to a party of some sort de~su ka?**

**Shinta: Of course! I just wish the whole of the Shingumi is here to celebrate Hana-chan's birthday...**

**Chiyone: JIKAI! **Chaos In The Teigeki**! Who are THOSE people?**

**Lobelia: It's none of your business... **


	11. Chp. 9 - Chaos In The Teigeki

Yet another ST fic

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_(alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out?

Author's note: Hanae celebrates her birthday...But the fun comes in when the new wing is finally built!

Translation: Nihon ryori wa iin da yo - Japanese cuisine is great Shikashi - But Honto ni arigatou - thank you so much Eto...Atashi... - Um...I...

**Chapter 9 - Chaos In The Teigeki**

Hanae woke up one morning at 5:30 a.m. approximately to find herself 19. She sighed. _I know everyone celebrates his or her birthday on the first of January, but can somebody change that custom once in a while? Tetsu did..._ She brushed away the last of sleep from her eyes and glanced around the room. Her normal desk and chair stood beside the door. Her normal closet stood adjacent to the desk. Her normal bed, normal bookshelf... She was definitely sick of being so normal, and yet not so normal, the fact that she was the captain of the Shingumi. She opened the door of her room and went out to wash up. 

Nobody was up yet. Or so she thought.

* * *

The rest of the Shingumi were at the Teigeki. Now the Shingumi had to help out in the theatre, the Shikigumi as well. Everyday, they had to go to the Teigeki to help out, but not as early as that day. (Everyone knew about Maria and Shinta's relationship, so they didn't bother to hide it.) Shinta was in a frenzy as he did not really know how to celebrate birthdays. 

"Shinta, stop stepping on the crepe paper! Stupid Japanese man!"

"YOU'RE getting racist now, Rose, now it's YOU!!!!"

"Oh shut up."

"Shinta-sama, will you please get off my left toe?"

"Oh, sorry, Komugi!"

"It's all right. It's just broken."

"Shinta, look what you did to my sister!"

"I'm sorry!!!"

Then, Maria wandered into the 'Danger Zone'. She saw the frenzied Shinta running around and Chiyone nursing Komugi's toe. Not to mention Rose and Ryuue quarrelling over racism. She asked aloud, "What's going on in here?" 

The people quickly explained the situation to her. Then she asked, "Where's Shiki?" Everybody looked for the usually calm head in the middle of the hectic sea of crazed people. She was...Sleeping. 

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, Maria-san!" Shiki awakened. (Shiki's voice was somewhat similar to Maria's so when she spoke, most people mistook her voice for Maria's if they couldn't see her face to face.) She nudged the Shikigumi awake, they were all snoozing beside her. She called to Ume, who was unwilling to get up. "Ume...Wake up..." she coaxed. Ume replied sleepily, "No, I don't want to clip tickets, Maria-san..." Shiki's eyes widened while Maria's narrowed. Kanako pinched Ume awake. Ume glared at her, but stopped when she saw Shiki glaring at _her_. Then everybody started preparing for Hanae's birthday party...

* * *

Hanae panicked as she saw everybody's rooms. All the beds were made, which was very unusual for Rose and Chiyone, and the whole place was dust-free. She ran downstairs. All the textiles were still intact, nothing was missing...So where had they gone to? 

She then teleported to the bathroom. Nobody was there either. She got changed and went out to the kitchen. Since she had nothing to do just yet, and she wanted to take her mind off where the Shingumi had disappeared to, she was about to make breakfast when she found out there was no rice left. She sat down heavily in a chair. She wanted to go to the Teigeki, but she knew nobody got up before 7, and she didn't want to wake anybody up. She banged her head on the table, and asked aloud in English, "Where the heck have they gone to?" 

* * *

By this time the Hanagumi were all up. Sumire was a little grumpy ("What's the big deal, it's only a birthday...*yawn*") but nevertheless she helped out with the decor of the room. Maria, Kanna and Iris were in the kitchen, making the special breakfast they had planned for Hanae. Shinta provided useful information: Hanae LOATHED cake. She loved the traditional Japanese cuisine ("Nihon-ryori wa iin dayo!" was Hanae's trademark phrase when it came to food), however. Nobody had celebrated her actual birthday before, only Tetsu did. And Shinta wanted to let her relive those happy times when Tetsu was around. Shikashi...

"Shinta! Sit!" Rose commanded.

Shinta was banished to a lonely corner, sitting on a chair. He had to sit there to prevent any accidents from happening again. So far he had made footprints all over the crepe paper, overcooked a whole pot of rice, made Komugi's toe break, and spilt most of the miso soup. 

He didn't mean to.

He just...did it.

* * *

Finally everything was done. It was still awhile before Hanae was expected to pop over, but Shinta was getting lonely. He stole a glance at Maria - She was busy. He was disappointed. He then got up, and thinking that nobody was looking at him, went away to the terrace, Maria and his 'secret place'.

Upon reaching the terrace, he breathed in the cool autumn air. He wished that Maria was there, so he could hold her... Then he immediately scolded himself for thinking perversely. 

Maria knew that Shinta was disappointed at not being able to help out, and she knew he was going to the terrace, so she followed him.

*Note: The following can be a bit mushy...*

Shinta was too preoccupied with his thoughts to sense that somebody was behind him. Then everything went dark. He knew a pair of hands had covered his eyes, and that person didn't make a sound. _Hm...This person wants to me guess who he or she is...Well, it can't be a he...Hanae? No...She'd pull my ear, not do something so affectionate...Oh I see... _He gently took the pair of hands off his eyes and held them. He tightened their grip around his waist and then enjoyed the peaceful moment.

Maria smiled at his actions. _He's so sweet,_ she thought. She rested her head against his back, and pressed close to him, feeling his warmth in the chilly late autumn morning air. Then he spoke. "Ne...Maria...Would you mind if I..." He then spun around and faced her, causing her to blush. She wasn't really used to the idea of being Shinta's girlfriend, although she loved it. He then tilted her head a little...

They were enveloped in a warm, long kiss when a call rang from the lobby, Chiyone's voice. "She's here~!!!!!" 

Maria and Shinta reluctantly broke away and went downstairs, Maria still blushing furiously. Shinta just smiled at her, tightening his hold on her hand.

* * *

"Oh my God...What the..." Hanae trailed off. Then everybody shouted "Surprise!", when tears came into her eyes. Shinta looked worried. "What's wrong?" he asked, coming up to her. Hanae shook her head. "Arigatou, Shinta Nii-chan...Hontou ni arigatou...WAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!" She buried her head in his shoulder. Rose couldn't bear it any longer and went over to hug Shinta and Hanae. Then the Shingumi were involved in a BIG bear hug, while everybody else went 'Aw...'

* * *

After Kanna's birthday, which was in the next week, the new wing's construction had started. It was expected to be completed in 3 months, thanks to the Shikigumi. They could do things EXTREMELY fast, and I mean FAST.

_Therefore, after 3 months..._

"Ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can move over?"

"It's cold..."

"It's December, Ryuue...What about our rooms?"

"It's still cold! Why does it have to be cold in December?"

"Shut up, Ryuue! Can we do it up anyway we want it?"

"Am I anywhere near Ryuue? I hope not..."

"Am I anywhere Maria? I guess not..."

"Shinta!"

"*meek* Sorry, Hana-chan..."

"I want to share a room with my sister."

"I'm so sorry, Nee-chan, I need a lot of rest, and unfortunately, you do snore so."

"KOMUGI~!!!!"

"Wahahahahaha!"

"Oh shut up, it's none of your business."

"It's none of your's too. YOU shut up."

"Uh-oh."

The area was clear in just 2 seconds, and Ryuue and Rose were left to quarrel all they wanted.

* * *

Sakura was moping, she missed Oogami so much. She sighed and played around with a twig. _Maria-san looks so happy these days... She's changed a lot...*giggled* Thanks to Kanna, Sumire-san, Hanae and myself, of course...What about...Me? Oh, how I envy Maria-san...How come I can't be as happy as her... _

"Boo!"

"Ahhh! Huh? Maria-san?"

"I rarely do that...*giggled* Oops, I rarely giggle too, huh?"

"That's right...*shoots weird look at Maria* Are you sick, Maria-san?"

"No...I'm just...In love. Oh no, I'm blushing again..."

"*sighs* How does it feel to be in love, Maria-san...?"

"It feels...Wonderful. To love someone and love him back in return... Sakura? Are you thinking about Taichou?"

"*alarmed* How did you know?!"

"Just a guess. Actually... I loved him too... But... He only loved you! And still does, by the way. I gave up on him after he left, I know he'll always love you."

"He...Does?"

"Of course! Don't doubt him, 'Sakura-kun'. I have to go, I think I hear Shinta calling..."

_Arigatou, Maria-san... May Oto-sama bless you and Shinta-san..._

* * *

"Yes, Shinta?" Maria walked into the lobby. "Maria, could you do something for me?" Maria teased, "And what do I get in return?" "This." Shinta promptly kissed her...Right in front of everyone in the lobby. She began to turn red again. The Hanagumi present looked at them, wide-eyed. 

"Aha! Caught in the act!"

"It was on purpose, Orihime-san."

"Scandal!!!!"

"Yuri...-_-;;"

"I knew there was something going on between you two!"

"Kanna, Sumire, Sakura...Why aren't any of you all talking?"

"Um...We..."

"Ohohohoho! Ah...Nothing..."

"Eto...Atashi..."

"YOU ALL KNEW!!!" Orihime and Kouran shouted.

"YOU KNEW?!!! Shoot..." Yuri trudged off, disappointed that she was not the first one to know the 'juicy stuff'.

"Shinta...*blushing big time* What do you want me to do for you?"

"Nothing...Just wanted you to kiss me before I go for the meeting."

"Oh! You're in your uniform..."

"Yes...*puts hands around her waist* I want to let you see how handsome I am...Hehe."

"Shinta...Not in front of all of them...Ah! Iris!"

"Maria has been naughty, ne, Jan-Poru? Never mind, as long as it's not Onii-chan! Ne, Leni, let's go plaaa-aaay!"

"Um...Okay...If you say so."

"Shinta!"

"Yikes! Hana-chan..."

"WHERE'S SHIKI???!!! We're gonna be late, we're gonna be late..."

"I'm here! Sorry, Hanae-san..."

"WHERE'S KAEDE AND YONEDA-SAN???!!! We'll have to teleport there instead...Oh no..."

"Taichou, you forgot your gloves."

"Thank you, Chiyone..."

"Taichou, I'm Komugi."

"Whatever. Ah! All ready? WHERE'S ROSE???!!!"

"Right under your nose."

Then there was a scream from Iris. "Onii-chan!"

"Oh no..." Hanae groaned.

* * *

"Taichou! How come you're back?" Maria asked, smiling. "Ah...Just a visit... It's good to see you all again. Oh...Who are these people?" Oogami asked, spotting the Shingumi. Hana frowned as she read his mind. _This guy's such a creep..._ She gave him the cold treatment and treated him VERY formally. "Tsukigawa Hanae, you may call me Hanae. But I'll prefer is if you call me Tsukigawa-san, thank you." Then she saluted. Shinta let out a deep sigh...He pulled Maria aside.

"Did your Taichou do anything wrong when he was in France?"

"I don't know...He didn't mention anything..."

"Well, he's going to have a hard time with the Shingumi."

"Why?"

"Wait and see."

Oogami was puzzled at receiving glares from Hanae, Rose ("Stupid Japanese man!") and Ryuue ("For the first time, I'm as racist as her...Unfaithful cad!") and Komugi ("I must say you are despicable.") and Chiyone ("Bad man! BAD BAD MAN!!!"). He then spotted Iris and went up to her. "Iris..." Then Iris stepped hard on his foot. "OWWW!!! IRIS!!!"

"Bad Onii-chan! Bad, bad onii-chan! Come on Leni, let's go!"

She had read the Shingumi's minds.

* * *

"...So Leni, you know why I hurt Onii-chan just now?"

"Yes. But...How could he do that to Sakura?"

"He's bad, that's what! The other person doesn't even know about Sakura!"

"Who's the other person?"

"I don't know."

Just then Maria came into the music room, where Leni and Iris were. 

"Hey...Could you tell me what was going on just now?" she asked Iris with concern.

"No. You'll tell Onii-chan."

"I won't. I promise."

"Maria...I know you're to be trusted...All right then."

_After explaining things..._

"What?! After I told Sakura that he'd be faithful to her..."

"Maria, not so loud!"

"Someone's coming!"

"Act natural."

"Sakura!" Maria was shocked. She was afraid that Sakura had heard their conversation earlier.

"Maria-san...Leni, Iris...Why are all of you huddle together?"

"N-Nothing. We were leaving. Right...Now."

"Okay..."

"Bye Sakura!"

A puzzled Sakura was left alone in the music room after a moment.

* * *

"Is this the place?" Erica asked. Lobelia looked at the address on the slip of paper. "It should be..." Glycine took the paper from Lobelia's hands. "This is it!"

The Pari-Kagekidan were in Tokyo. Without Oogami knowing it.

* * *

Oogami was sitting alone in the lobby. He sighed. _What happened just now? Could it be...They found out about..._ Then a pair of hands covered his eyes...

"ERICA?!"

"Bonjour~!"

"AH! Minna..."

"Surprised?" Coquelicot asked happily.

"Of course..." Then he realised having them there was a BIG mistake.

"Um...Why are you all out without my permission?"

"We wrote a letter to headquarters, they let us come!"

Then Maria, Iris and Leni happened to meet them. Chiyone also just happened to bound out from nowhere (she teleported into the scene) and Kanna came down the steps as well. Then everybody started screaming at the same time.

"What are all of you doing here?"

"We came from France, dear! You must be Iris! Bonjour~!"

"Where are my socks?" 

"Chiyone...-_-;;"

"I can't find them!"

"Can everybody just calm down around here?"

"You all must try my cooking tonight, people!"

"Where are my socks?!"

"Do you miss France, Iris?"

"Where is everybody? I want to see who's Sumire!"

"HEBI ONNA?! Who wants to see her?!"

"She has great fashion sense!"

"Can everybody just calm down?"

"Where are my socks?!"

Then every shut up when a roar came from the main door.

"**WHY IS IT SO NOISY?!**" Hanae screamed. Then she marched up the steps to go to the dining hall. Shinta, Rose, Shiki, Kaede and Yoneda (who were all in their uniform) had just came back from a meeting. Hanae was in a bad mood because the Powers That Be wanted to transfer her over to another unit (the 1st Secret Group) but she declined. They had began to force her to take the higher rank and she blew up because she was frustrated over the secret she knew about Oogami and the last thing she wanted was to be disturbed by anyone who didn't let her cool down in peace. Thus, the meeting adjourned like that.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Shinta: Hana-chan's really angry this time...**

**Ryuue: At least she's not angry with me, hehe...**

**Rose: Oh, shut up. JIKAI! **Problems Under One Roof! **Oogami, that cad, he's really going to get it this time...**


	12. Chp 10 Problems Under One Roof

_Yet another ST fic. Yeah._

_ (alternate titles: "Sequel to: ''Just another ST fic. Yeah."' or 'The Return of Kouran's Time Machine.' or 'A New Enemy from the Past.')_

~All Sakura Taisen characters belong to Red, Sega and Bandai. Anybody I've left out? _Onryou_'s plot is mine, Shikigumi's mine, Shingumi's mine, and so is the extended wing of the Teigeki. =D

Author's note: Ahhhh...Took a break... It has been about a year, huh, readers? Thanks for all the encouragement, Sapphire Jade-san & MizuYanagi-san! I really appreciate this. After I have finished all my fics (i.e. the sequel to this fic), I will not write fan-fiction anymore... But real, solid stuff in the Originals section, maybe, yeah. Hee~ Dozo!

Translation: _yoshi_ - an expression, like, "All right!" _Sou da ne, Jan-Poru_ - Right, Jean-Paul? _iie - no_

** Chapter 10 - Problems Under One Roof**

**New York City**

_"The night is rarely this calm, huh?" Yule Carlton said to his friend, Hunter. _

_"You'll be going back to London tomorrow, yeah?" asked Hunter._

_"Nah, to Japan." _

_ "What for?" Hunter exclaimed._

_"They need me there..." _

_"I thought you had no family?" _

_"I do, kind of." _

_"I see. So why come for training here?" _

_"*laughs* That would be a secret."_

_"Yeah right. A guy like you..."_

_"No kidding!"_

_"You make a good actor, Yule. Oh well, sleep early, you've got a long journey."_

_"Never mind if you don't believe me. *laughs* Good night."_

_* * *_

"Taichou..." Rose started comforting her best friend. "Don't talk to me, I'm already very irritated." "Just listen to me, Taichou. Give me one minute." "*takes a deep breath to calm herself down* Shoot."

"If you don't want to go, don't go. But if you feel that the Big Shots are giving you too much pressure, I'd rather you quit the Shingumi and live a happy life. You seem sad. I'm sorry if Ryuue and I have been immature, but... It's hard to stop because we can't really agree on anything. We'll try to change, I promise. For real. And as for the Oogami guy, I think you should take a break, he's not too bad, only he tends to be a two-timer. *sees look on Hanae's face* Okay, maybe he is bad, but that is Sakura and Erica's problem to solve. I know you care for people, but the thing is... You should show yourself some concern as well! Relax, Hana! Though Oogami may be a cad, you never know if he would be a nice man, right?" 

"*sigh* True, Rose, very true."

"Now, have a good night's sleep. I know you don't want to get a transfer, but if it does you good, I'll encourage you to go. After all, your insatiable curiosity for learning new things never ceases, does it? I heard the top secret group is a mixture of elites. Do your best, Hana, when you wake up everything would be okay. Rose's honour! Besides you still have till Christmas to decide! Um, okay, it's two weeks away..." Rose smiled. Hanae smiled back and got into bed. "You know," she said slowly, "Sometimes, **sometimes**, you sound like a mother." 

* * *

"Iris wonders if onii-chan is awake yet?" Iris asked Leni early the next morning. It was about 5 a.m. and Iris wanted to carry out her plan of sabotaging Oogami. Leni shook her head. "Most of the time, the earliest person to wake up is Sakura, and she only comes out at five-thirty. Maria doesn't count because she stays up till morning sometimes. So..."

"All right! Come on, Leni, we have to make some reservations. Iris doesn't want Onii-chan to be late for his date!"

* * *

When Oogami woke up, he saw a suit laid out for him on his chair. There was also a card on it saying "I'll meet you at the café beside Ueno Park at 10 a.m. Really hope you see you there. -Love, Yours Truly". Oogami smiled and guessed it was Sakura, because of the handwriting. Then he caught a whiff of Erica's perfume. He wondered, "Could Sakura-kun have the same perfume as Erica? Hm... Could be a possibility. Anyway, I'll see when I get there."

There were no performances that day, only at night, so Oogami was pretty free. After all, the Shikigumi could take over his duties, and since they were so fast, they managed to usher, sell gifts and clip tickets at practically the same time. The San-nin Musume were definitely glad to have them around. 

The Teigeki was expecting a large crowd because Hanae had written a play (in secret) based on a story Tetsu once told her and posted the synopsis to the newspaper. It turned out that people had written to the newspaper and asked the newspaper if any of the theatres in town would have the play since it sounded so good. The newspaper immediately contacted Yoneda and he agreed to let the play out in a month. When he informed Hanae, she went into a state of panic but with the help of Maria, she managed to direct and act in the play and cope with the sudden attacks on Kyushu every once in a while.

**(*Note to readers: You don't have to read the following 3 chapters unless you want to. It's just a sidetrack from the main story to let me get on the roll after such a long time of rest from fic-writing. But it's also the storyline for the new play and what the Hanagumi are playing as, if you're interested.)**

The Hanagumi were working hard because right after 'Sleeping Beauty' came '_Onryou_', or Revengeful Ghosts. Though the Hanagumi members were initially put off by the name, Hanae explained to them the meaning of the title. It was about a woman whose husband betrayed her while she was pregnant, and he and his lover conspired to kill her after the baby was born and get the baby for themselves. If it was a boy, then they would let him live. If it was a girl, they would let her grow up and sell her to a brothel. In the end, the woman learnt of the plot but it was too late, the adulterous couple killed her and got the baby (a girl). After she died, the husband and his lover were haunted by not only a terrifying bloodstain on the ground where she died but also blood on their hands, which only they could see. After living with the horror for 12 years, the girl was also killed by them because they didn't want to have any 'memento' of the woman, but because of that, they were haunted by both ghosts (mother and daughter) who were sighted by people and were called onryou (revengeful ghosts).

Hanae thought that she would just be directing, but Maria proposed to the Hanagumi that since she had put in so much effort, she should be in the play as well. Shinta had actually told Maria about Tetsu and he knew that Hanae would like to act in it, so Maria suggested proposing the the idea to the Hanagumi. At first Sumire wasn't happy with it, but in the end she felt that it was all right to let Hanae act the main character because "after all, it's the actress who brings out the character, but not the other way round. Ohohohoho!" Hanae ended up as the main character, Iris as the daughter who got killed in the end, Sumire as the lover of the unfaithful husband and avoiding a male role for the rest of the female cast of the Hanagumi, Ryuue was chosen to be the husband, which he unwillingly agreed.

In the end, Hanae did a really good job as the woman, Reiko, and she managed to show everyone the true actress in her. They never knew that Hanae had the talent on stage. Even Sumire was stunned as Hanae sang the song of the play with really sad lyrics (something like _'as I die alone in agony and grief, I shall never forget the love I gave you but you didn't return'_) extremely well. With that particular scene of her dying, she made almost the whole watching cast cry because of the pitiful state she was able to portray. Sakura admired her greatly because of her ability to act as Reiko, and soon news of the new actress spread around Teito.

* * *

As Sakura got up, Iris came running to her with a letter, supposedly from "Onii-chan". Sakura was delighted and shooed Iris out of the room (she didn't notice how easy it was, though) and quickly opened the letter. "10 a.m. I still have time before the rehearsal. Yoshi, I better get changed!"

* * *

Erica found a letter at the door that morning and opened it. She squealed to realise it was a letter from Oogami and closed the door. She did not notice her nightgown was caught in the door and as she turned she heard a ripping sound. Groaning, she opened the door again, and careful not to catch her dress in again, closed it.

* * *

"Done it?" Leni asked Iris when they met in the lobby. Iris nodded. "Jan-Poru went with me! We were scared about lying, but this is for the good of Onii-chan. Sou da ne, Jan-Poru?" Then there was a burst of activity when the Shikigumi started the usual cleaning of the Teigeki every morning.

"Last one to the broom closet is a three-eyed monkey and has to clean the bathrooms!" Kanako shouted as she ran up the stairs. Matsuko ran after her and said, "Not fair! Yesterday I lost and cleaned the bathrooms and I was a hairy pig, what's with the monkey thing?!" Kanako shouted back, "'Cause the last one should be Shiki! HAHAHAHA!" As they reached the broom closet with Ume following close behind, Kanako continued, "To prevent myself from getting sacked by Taichou, I can't make the insult too great, can I?" Kanako was secretly rather afraid of Shiki. However, she didn't know the other two girls were terrified of Shiki too. Shiki was a strict captain and her calmness could be rivalled to only Komugi's. No, she wasn't void of feeling, just... Calm. That was why so many people trusted her and relied on her when troubles arose. And she was to play a vital part in the sabotaging of Oogami...

* * *

"I feel so much better, Rose," Hanae said as she woke up, exhilarated. Smiling, Rose said, "That's good. So have you thought about the reply to the Bosses?" Hanae frowned. "Actually, no." Rose let out a sigh, saying, "That's all right, I guess it's pretty normal. Anyway, I read Iris' mind just now by auto-reflex, and I found that... She's going to sabotage Oogami by letting him meet Sakura and Erica at the same time."

"Good! That kid's really good!"

"*rather shocked* T-Taichou?"

"Yoshi! I'll go take a bath, then go look for Iris, we'll set off to see how that jerk ends up..."

"I though I'm supposedly the shrewd one in the Shingumi?"

"You never know, Rose, you never know. *has gleam in her eye*"

* * *

"Sakura-kun!" Oogami waved. Sakura was there already. "Sorry to make you wait, Sakura-kun," Oogami said. "Iie, Oogami-san, I was early," Sakura hurriedly put in. Sakura thought, _I wonder what is Oogami-san's intention for meeting me here..._

Then they heard someone hollering, "Oogami-san!!!" Erica bounded into the café, tripping over a chair. Oogami was puzzled; why was Erica here? "Sorry I'm late, ah, Sakura-san is here too!"

* * *

"Two of you better confess! What did you do to Taichou?" Kanna demanded from the pair who were caught in the act - Iris and Leni. They were almost out when Kanna caught them behaving sneakily. Catching Iris who said "Onii-chan" and Leni then asking her to be quiet, Kanna guessed they had done something to Oogami.

Their heads lowered, they did not utter a word. "Na, Kanna-han, don't be like this! They must have done it for Oogami-han's good, sou ya?" Kouran interceded. Iris and Leni looked up and nodded vehemently. 

"Now, what did you two do?" Maria questioned.

"Leni, tell us de~su!" Orihime grew impatient.

"Kanna-san, don't put too much pressure on the kids," Sumire said just to put her finger in the pie. She was busy concentrating on her nails and flicking her hair.

The Pari-Kagekidan were there too, and they looked blankly at the Hanagumi as they argued. Lobelia said, "What childishness." Glycine silently agreed, while Hanabi sighed and nodded. Coquelicot was just hovering around Leni and Iris was glaring daggers at her while Leni managed a weak smile.

Then there was a shout from the stairs. The Shingumi were chasing after Hanae, who seemed to have gone mad after last night, and she was running, muttering "Must catch that jerk" under her breath. 

"Taichou, calm down!" Ryuue called out.

Then Shinta was heard crying, "Hana-chan! Hey, you're going to crash-" The wall had a hole which was Hanae-shaped.

"Taichou-sama would be fine. She can protect herself. She is only going to get to the bottom of matter. Please, everyone. Let Taichou-sama do what she deems fit."

"Thanks, Komugi!!!" Hanae cried from afar.

"Yay, Taichou is going to catch the villain!" Chiyone added, without helping the situation much.

"Though it's none of our business... I suggest we follow Taichou," Rose said.

The Hanagumi and the Pari-Kagekidan appeared and looking at the Shingumi, then at each other, arrived to a silent, but similar decision.

They were on the way to Ueno Park.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Kaede: Ne, Shihainin, what do you think about the current situation?**

**Yoneda: *chuckles* They are having fun, Kaede-san! **

**Kaede: What a weird man Oogami-kun is... Do you think he is right, Shihainin?**

**Shingumi: NO!**

**Yoneda: *shrugs* I feel that it's natural, after all, I was once like him. *chuckles***

**Shingumi: *fierce glare***

**Kaede: *sighs* JIKAI! **Water out of the Rock! **The truth is out, Oogami-san, don't break too many hearts, ne?**


End file.
